He may be the best young horse in Australia and the lesser brother of a mare who is the champion of the world.

But when he steps out in the Australian Guineas at Flemington on Saturday All Too Hard will do so not merely as some promising and talented kid, or as Black Caviar's little brother.

"He has turned from a boy into a man," says his jockey Dwayne Dunn.

"He's his own horse now, he's the real thing in his own right."

Dunn has ridden All Too Hard in all but two of his 11 starts, giving up the ride only when he couldn't make the weight, most recently in the Cox Plate last spring when he finished second to Ocean Park

And he's more familiar than anyone with the progress the colt has made from handy two-year-old to where he stands now as one of the best two horses in Australia.

"There is no doubt this colt has come back bigger and better," he said.

"In the spring, he had a lot of baby fat on him, but that's all muscle now.

"He's improved a lot, and mentally he is handling it all really well now. We always expected him to be better at three than he was at two."

Six months ago all of those qualities were under question after All Too Hard was beaten for the fourth time in as many runs, bungling the start and struggling to keep up with the Golden Slipper winner Pierro who had emerged as the budding superstar.

Then came the spring, a return to Melbourne where he'd won his first two starts and a Caulfield Guineas match-up with the Gai Waterhouse-trained super colt.

And All Too Hard spanked him.

Then he did it again in the Cox Plate before returning to win the C F Orr Stakes at Caulfield in February and improved again to win the Futurity Stakes at the same track last Saturday.

For Dunn and the rest of the team the win was vindication of their faith in a clearly superior horse.

"His Futurity Stakes win was a step up from his Orr win because he put them away very quickly," he said.

"He was going to do that first-up in the Orr, he was going to smash them, but he got a little tired towards the finish.

"It didn't worry us because we knew how much upside he had."

All Too Hard is a $1.33 favourite in Saturday's $500,000 Group One feature, despite a bad barrier and 15 opponents.

Dunn feels neither pressure nor concern, but he's giving the race appropriate consideration.

"I'd like another barrier draw - but we have to play the cards we are dealt," he said.

He's also spared a few thoughts for the future which he hopes will include an international campaign.

"I'm hoping they head overseas because he's shown he's good enough to go there," he said.

All Too Hard's itinerary is yet to be finalised beyond the Sydney autumn carnival.

After that it is up to the syndicate of studs and investors who earlier this year paid an estimated $25 million for him.

But for his jockey, the future is relatively straightforward.

"He's the best I've ever ridden. I just want to go wherever he goes."