ARCADIA, California (AP) — Point of Entry has emerged as the dominant distance grass horse in the United States with five straight wins, including three-in-a-row against top-level competition.

Today, Point of Entry takes another step up, facing some of the world’s top runners in the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita.

The 1 1/2-mile (2,400-metre) race is the second richest of the 15 BC races this weekend behind only the $5 million Classic.

Point of Entry is the slight 3-1 favourite over St Nicholas Abbey, back from Ireland to defend his title as the 7-2 second choice.

Half of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, a nine-time Breeders’ Cup winner, saw a major difference in Point of Entry at Keeneland this spring. At that stage, the four-year-old colt who started on dirt hadn’t distinguished himself.

“We were patient with him,” McGaughey said. “He’s always been a big colt. We tried him a little bit in his three-year-old year on the dirt to see if that worked. It sort of didn’t. His races weren’t that good and I knew he wasn’t going to be a Kentucky Derby-type horse.”

A year later, in Kentucky, Point of Entry showed what he could do in an allowance race. After dropping 26 lengths off the pace, Point of Entry stormed home to smash the Keeneland turf record for 1 1/2 miles (2,400 metres). He came back less than two weeks later also at Keeneland to win the Elkhorn Stakes, and the winning streak was launched.

“Right then, his future was in front of him,” McGaughey said. “That’s why we have the Breeders’ Cup. We’ll take him over and find out if he’s ready or not for this. I think he is. I think he’s done some things out of the ordinary.”

He’ll need an extraordinary effort to beat St Nicholas Abbey from the stable of top Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien.

The winner of the Coronation Cup in England in June, St Nicholas Abbey arrives off a poor effort in France’s top grass race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe where he was 11th on the soft course.

“I think it’s safe to say you can put a line through his last run in the Arc,” O’Brien said. “The jockey knew after a furlong or so that the horse was in trouble on that ground, and did his best to look after the horse. Hopefully, it will be a different story on quicker ground here.”

Other leading contenders in the race include a pair from trainer Dale Romans — Arlington Million winner Little Mike and Pacific Classic winner Dullahan.

The Japanese-bred Trailblazer should draw betting support after running second in his US debut last month.

The Breeders’ Cup was scheduled to kick off yesterday with six stakes: the Juvenile Sprint, Marathon, Juvenile Fillies Turf, Juvenile Fillies, Filly & Mare Turf and Ladies’ Classic.