Well the nominations are in, so let's start with our weight-for-age championship, the Cox Plate. One gets the feeling that if So You Think doesn't return to the scene of his greatest Australian triumphs (which at this stage he appears unlikely to do), then this might just be another year for a three-year-old to take the nation's ultimate racing prize. And I notice that Darley have just a single nomination: the dual Group 1 winner Helmet. This colt is an absolutely outstanding prospect - erratic

Well the nominations are in, so let's start with our weight-for-age championship, the Cox Plate. One gets the feeling that if So You Think doesn't return to the scene of his greatest Australian triumphs (which at this stage he appears unlikely to do), then this might just be another year for a three-year-old to take the nation's ultimate racing prize. And I notice that Darley have just a single nomination: the dual Group 1 winner Helmet. This colt is an absolutely outstanding prospect - erratic race manners or otherwise - and it might just chuck a couple more zeros onto his worth as a stallion if he can add a Cox Plate to his CV... He's currently being offered at $17 for the Plate with an agency or two. That might be worth a small investment now, because if he does in fact make it to Moonee Valley (potentially with the Guineas already under his belt), I highly doubt we'll be seeing such generous double-figure quotes bandied around... If Peter Snowden can keep the son of Exceed and Excel's mind on the job this campaign - and I am confident that he will, given his reputation as an exceptional horseman - then I think Helmet might just be the one.

Depending on how he's come back from the best part of a year off, I think Jim Conlan's Rekindled Interest is another that can put himself into the Cox Plate frame this year. His AAMI Vase win over the 2040m was most dominant, and this son of Redoute's Choice has always struck me as a potential weight-for-age horse given his impressive sprint. I will be eagerly watching his return in the Aurie's Star this Saturday (a race in which he is probably not without a fluker's chance).

I also think that Shamrocker warrants respect at weight-for-age. Her Derby win was pure poetry and I firmly believe she is one of the most talented animals I saw last autumn. As a four-year-old mare I'm not sure she fits the profile of a Cox Plate winner but I would like to see Danny O'Brien perhaps go with a Caulfield Cup-Cox Plate campaign with his stable star.

Two four-year-olds in Kiwi gun Jimmy Choux and Peter Moody's lovely Zabeel mare Lights Of Heaven must also be kept very safe, though the more you look at it the older horses, the more this race screams 'three-year-old'. Without the wonderful warrior Zipping to go around this year, there certainly doesn't look to be a standout amongst the more experienced weight-for-age brigade.

Flat Chat is also an interesting nomination. Now, I'm not suggesting that John Sadler's six-year-old is a realistic Cox Plate contender, but the improvement he showed in the autumn was immense, and if he were to continue to improve at that rate then he probably becomes a Group horse. Perhaps the Toorak Handicap might be within his scope?

And the award for most optimistic Cox Plate nomination? I think Rhyno Chaser looks the 'pick of the yard' to my eye, though I must confess I've always had a soft spot for this bloke since he won at good odds in Sydney in his two-year-old year (many, many moons ago)...

My assessment of the Caulfield Cup and Caulfield and Thousand Guineas entries will be posted tomorrow, so hopefully I can isolate a runner or two worth following on their way to the lucrative Group 1's.