The three-year-old campaign in horse racing is very important as they get one shot at the respective Classics across the globe. These races determine who the leading horses of their generation are. Here is a look at the three-year-old colts and fillies who have stood out so far and are likely to be in contention for some of the leading contests later in the year.
Poetic Flare
Irish trainer Jim Bolger has had some excellent horses throughout his illustrious training career and Poetic Flare may be the latest. He was successful in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in what was a strong renewal of the British Classic.
Poetic Flare is expected to remain at 1m for the rest of the season as his breeding suggests that is his optimum trip. His next assignment is likely to be the St James’s Palace Stakes where he has Royal Ascot odds of 3/1 (+300) for the three-year-old contest.
The son of Dawn Approach came very close to recording a Classic double as he finished second in the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh. Bolger’s colt was just a neck behind Mac Swiney who is set to feature in the Derby at Epsom. He is sure to be fighting for all the major 1m races at the back end of the campaign.
Mother Earth
Ridden by Frankie Dettori, Mother Earth came out on top in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket. Interestingly, it was her stablemate Santa Barbara who was the favorite going into that fillies’ contest. But Mother Earth proved too strong for the field.
O’Brien has had a lot of success with his fillies over the past couple of decades and he will be hoping to claim some more Group One races in 2021. The daughter of Zoffany was unable to follow up her Newmarket success in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches at Longchamp, however. She did not run badly, though, finishing second on very soft ground in Paris.
We are likely to see Mother Earth in the Coronation Stakes next where many of her rivals are set to come from her own stable, including Santa Barbara and recent Irish 1000 Guineas winner Empress Josephine.
Medina Spirit
Over in the USA, the leading three-year-old so far has been Medina Spirit. He won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. His bid for the US Triple Crown ended when he finished third in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, however, it was still a very good performance.
Legendary US trainer Bob Baffert will have the Breeders’ Cup in mind for his horse later this year. That is where he will be able to test his colt against the older generation to find out how good he actually is.
Baffert has won the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the feature race of the World Championship meeting, four times, including last year with his colt Authentic. The Kentucky Derby winner looks like an obvious contender for the prestigious dirt race in November.
With so much racing left in the Flat season in 2021, it is going to be exciting to see how many of the talented three-year-olds go on to be superstars in the sport.
“Creator. Troublemaker. Hardcore alcohol lover. Web evangelist. Extreme pop culture practitioner. Devoted zombie scholar. Avid introvert.”