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Form expert Gary Crispe delivers his verdict on this season’s two-year-old Group 1 winners and is confident they can take the next step.
Which of this season's five exciting juvenile Group 1 winners would you prefer to own as a three-year-old?
Converge joined the elite club with his dominant win in the JJ Atkins Stakes at Eagle Farm last Saturday.
The others are Stay Inside (Golden Slipper), Artorius (Blue Diamond), Anamoe (ATC Sires' Produce Stakes) and Captivant (Champagne Stakes).
Each is an exceptional young galloper but Stay Inside and Anamoe are considered the most brilliant, as reflected by their lofty rankings in The TAB Everest betting.
Artorius and Captivant appeal as Golden Rose-Caulfield Guineas contenders, while Converge, a son of English superhorse Frankel, seems the most likely of the quintet to stretch to the classic distance next season.
Adrian Bott, who co-trains with Gai Waterhouse, said Converge was likely to be prepared for the Golden Rose early in spring but mentioned the gelding could emerge as a Cox Plate contender.
Form expert Gary Crispe of Racing And Sports said the challenge for Stay Inside, Anamoe, Artorius, Captivant and Converge was to train on as three-year-olds in the spring.
"Sometimes the two-year-old form can be misleading but these five horses all appear to have a lot of talent and potential,'' Crispe said.
"It will be interesting to see what they do next season as three-year-olds.''
Crispe's Timeform ratings have Stay Inside as the pick of the crop. The colt has earned a 122 rating after his runaway Golden Slipper win.
Anamoe's breathtaking ATC Sires' Produce Stakes effort vaulted him to 119 with a "bullet", just ahead of Blue Diamond hero Artorius on 118.
Captivant showed his class when winning the Champagne Stakes, earning a 113 rating, only for Converge to move past him when he rated 116 in the JJ Atkins Stakes.
"Stay Inside's win in the Golden Slipper was great,'' Crispe said.
"He is one of the highest-rating winners of that race in many years and he's a brilliant colt.
"Anamoe was so impressive in the Sires'. He's such a promising young horse. The same could be said of Artorius as you don't see too many better wins in the Blue Diamond than his effort.
"Captivant showed his strength and ability to win the Champagne Stakes when Converge finished third that day. But I would say Converge has continued to improve as the season went on and he went to a new level in the JJ Atkins last Saturday.''
Crispe said there was real depth to this season's two-year-old crop, pointing out the likes of Profiteer, Ingratiating, Hilal, Home Affairs, Shaquero, Acrobat and New Zealander Sword Of State were also high up in the ratings.
The three-year-olds this season have been a mixed group.
Only Instant Celebrity (Sangster Stakes) was good enough to win at Group 1 level against older horses.
It might be left to the rising superstars such as Stay Inside, Anamoe, Artorius, Captivant and Converge to mix it with the established older champions Verry Elleegant, Nature Strip, Zaaki and others in the big races next season.
Online article taken from news.com.au, published on Tuesday, 15th June 2021, Author, Ray Thomas.
