A well bred three-year-old son of Crocker Road, Nominado ran just the once in his first season, and it was a promising performance. Quite where he will fit in this season is impossible to say but it would come as a surprise if he fails to break his maiden fairly soon in his sophomore campaign. We have heard it before, once raced horses being described as 'could be anything' and he is one of those. Without creating unrealistic expectations, one can be optimistic about this gelding's future. His racecourse debut came as late as on November 17, when Nominado tackled 1600 metres on the dirt track. He went off as the third favourite and the punters got it absolutely right, as he finished third behind Shallow and Cucou Bella, who had both gained racing experience previously. Shallow was coming off a win against Solveig (who ran second in Janos Tandaris Minneløp in Sweden next time out) in a September maiden, while Coucou Bella had finished third to Une Autre Beute in the Autumn Fillies Stakes at Bro Park two weeks earlier. Nominado was well beaten by Shallow but he looked like a horse who would learn a lot from the outing. Being a son of the tremendously successful mare Theatrical Award (Academy Award), who included the Marit Sveaas Minneløp (G3), Norsk Derby and Breeders Prize Classic in her collection of 12 wins, there's a fair chance that Nominado will be wanting further than a mile in due course. Equally, it will be interesting to see him on turf. His half-brother Lifeofbryan won four times at up to 1980 metres, with all of his wins coming on the lawn. GS 09 Mar 20