It's dangerous to get carried away by juvenile form, especially with so much water still to flow under the bridge, but watching Argonaut destroy his opposition in the Gr 1 Meydan Premiers Champion Stakes at Clairwood turned out to be a breathtaking experience and there is little doubt that, barring mishaps, the son of Western Winter is SA racing's next champion-in-waiting.

There was something terrifying about the way the colt went about his business, under an almost obscenely confident ride from Mark Khan. In the Golden Horseshoe on July day, Khan had kept the favourite on a tight rein in about second place and, clearly impatient, had let him loose turning for home.

This time around, he did not even put on any pretence that he thought this was a race: he simply allowed Argonaut to set his own pace and it was clear a long way out that the rest of the field were in trouble.

Any hopes his rivals might have had that he would tire in the straight were quickly dashed: with minimal urgings from his pilot, he simply stretched out further and it became a question of how far he would win by. The official verdict was five lengths, but Khan could probably have doubled that if he so wished and there will be many racing fans now awaiting the colt's 3-year-old campaign with feverish anticipation.

Kilcoy Castle was touted as the big danger before the race and he ran a honourable race in second. He is a decent sort in his own right and with a crucial growth phase of their careers in front of them, there is still time for him to improve further and bridge the gap on Argonaut.

Winning trainer Geoff Woodruff had the added bonus of claiming third and fourth places as well, as Kingdom Come ran on from well back to take third and Profit Report, who was a bit keen early on, ran another honest race in fourth. They may not be in the same league as their stellar stable companion, but this pair are also shaping up nicely and there are definitely races to be won with them.