But just when he seemed to have matured as a handicap horse, Smith brought him back to the barn today with one more problem.
He has done things that good, older handicap horses do.
Right now we have the top handicap horse around.
"The horse that beat him might be the best handicap horse right now," Johnson said.
His success saw him described as "the best handicap horse in England at the present time".
How can you take a 2-year-old who just runs in allowance conditions and compare him to a handicap horse?
In his last year, he was voted handicap horse of the season in both polls.
It is a heavy burden being a top-level handicap horse.
Siphon has been among the West's best handicap horses for three seasons.
"We'll rest him up and turn him into a top handicap horse."
