Aidan O'Brien has admitted his concerns about testing conditions ahead of Order Of St George's bid for Gold Cup glory at Royal Ascot.

The master of Ballydoyle has saddled a record six previous winners of the two and a half mile feature, with Yeats landing four consecutive renewals between 2006 and 2009.

Last season's impressive Irish St Leger hero Order Of St George dominated his rivals on his return to action in the Saval Beg at Leopardstown and is a warm order to continue his winning spree, but O'Brien is worried about soft ground for a horse who has yet to tackle further than a mile and three-quarters.

"Order Of St George handles a dig but going that far, you wouldn't want it too soft," he said.

"He is a class horse and was just ready to run when he ran in Leopardstown and hopefully he will have progressed from then.

"He does handle an ease, though."

Ryan Moore rides the four-year-old for just the second time and the first time since last June, when he was narrowly beaten by stable companion Bondi Beach in the Curragh Cup.

Moore said: " Order Of St George is a very exciting horse and hasn't done a lot wrong. It was a nice comeback win from him."

All-conquering National Hunt trainer Willie Mullins saddles last year's Lonsdale Cup winner and Melbourne Cup runner-up Max Dynamite.

The six-year-old could only finish third when odds-on for the Henry II Stakes, but jockey Pat Smullen feels he is better than he showed that day.

"I'm really looking forward to him. Order Of St George is going to be a warm favourite, but Max Dynamite is a very good horse," Smullen told At The Races.

"His run in York last year was very good and obviously his run in the Melbourne Cup was very good. If he brings that form, he'll be very competitive.

"The Sandown race was a very messy race and I don't think you saw him in a true light at all.

"A true-run race will be ideal for him and hopefully the run at Sandown will leave him spot-on for Thursday."