Some good three-year-olds on the Horizon

It is still relatively early in the racing season and we have our major Classic races to come.

Once they start to take place we will be able to understand how good this current crop of three-year-olds really is.

At this stage we have to believe the comments of trainers and jockeys and there are two horses racing in Race 4 at Kenilworth today a MR 73 Handicap over 1600m, who already have big reputations.

This is a small field of just eight runners but as a trainer like Mike de Kock believes, it says a lot for a three-year-old at this stage of his or her career to win a handicap in open company.

Horizon did not have an impressive start to his racing career and the only indication that he might have a smidgeon of talent was the fact that he was supported in the betting and went off as the 22-10 favourite.

He ran a shocker in a Maiden Plate at Kenilworth over 1200m and after showing up a little in the early stages, faded right out to finish 13^th of the 17 runners, beaten 12.50 lengths.

Trainer Candice Bass-Robinson rested him for two months and then brought him back to contest a race over 1600m, again at Kenilworth. This time we saw a different Horizon as he hit the front in the final 200m to win going away by 2.50 lengths.

After the race his jockey, Grant van Niekerk, started gushing about the ability of this son of Dynasty. We will find out just how good he is in this event.

Craven is the other talked-about three-year-old. His first start was at Durbanville over 1400m in which he finished a 0.20-length second behind The Great One.

He started 1-4 favourite in his next start and cruised to victory under jockey Andrew Fortune. He started enthusing over this Brett Crawford-trained runner but they did make it clear this son of Dynasty was looking for further.

That might well explain why he battled to quicken in his last start, again over 1600m, and could do so again in this event. Crawford has already said the Grade 1 Cape Derby in January is his mission.