TWO-year-old colt Navarro won his 1400m debut at the Vaal on Thursday by a head, plugging away late, but Mathew de Kock reckons Markus and Ingrid Jooste’s runner will show good improvement during the course of the season and bears watching.

JP van der Merwe got Navarro (black sleeves) going strongly late.

“Navarro is immature and green still, he only started extending late in the race. We put him over 1400m first time out because the 1200m was patently too short on what he’d shown us. But he’s nicely bred, he has a very nice action and that is promising.”

A R2,7-million purchase, Navarro is by top sire Silvano whose progeny traditionally improve with racing over time – there is every reason to believe this one won’t retire a Maiden.