Not surprisingly, almost half of the entries are foreign bred and foreign-breds have certainly won their share of BC Mile races.  The standout of this group appears to be the Irish-bred Group 1 winner Araafa which in his last start came within a length and a quarter of defeating the awesome George Washington in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.  Earlier in the year he upset George Washington in the Irish 2000 Guineas, winning by two lengths, and followed that with a rousing victory in Ascot's St. James Palace Stakes.  A maintenance of this form would be very difficult for the others to overcome.  French-bred Gorella and Irish-bred Aragorn appear to be the main competitors from among the American-raced horses.  Gorella is consistent and fast, has a win over the course and an exemplary record at the distance.  She has tried colts twice in the last year, losing both; however, the losses were narrow: 1 3/4 lengths in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic Stakes on Derby day and 3/4 of a length in last year's BC Mile where she ran third.  Nevertheless, she has a legitimate shot.  Aragorn is also very consistent and has four straight wins racing exclusively in California.  His best performance matches that of any in the field.  Badge of Silver is interesting if only because he has a single start on the grass that he won convincingly and he is trained by Bobby Frankel.  It's anybody's guess if he will move forward against this level of competition.  Overall, Araafa looks formidable.  If he is in top form, his 9-2 M/L odds seem generous.