He attracted strong interest from bidders including Alec Head and Bernard van Cutsem but was bought for $240,000 by the British Bloodstock Agency on behalf of Charles St George.
With Piggott again in the saddle he was made the 40/85[8] favourite with his main opposition expected to come from Pitcairn who had finished second in the Middle Park Stakes earlier in the month.
Cellini led from the start[9] and drew away in the closing stages and won easily from Pitcairn with Gerard Street and Jupiter Pluvius in third and fourth.
[7] On his three-year-old debut Cellini won the Group Three Vauxhall Trial Stakes over seven furlongs at Phoenix Park Racecourse, beating Furry Glen by a head.
After five consecutive victories Cellini started the 11/10 favourite for Irish 2000 Guineas on 18 May, but finished third of the ten runners, beaten a head and three lengths by Furry Glen and Pitcairn.
[10] There was no International Classification of European two-year-olds in 1973: the official handicappers of Britain, Ireland and France compiled separate rankings for horses which competed in those countries.
The independent Timeform organisation gave him a rating of 125 p, (the "p" indicating that he was likely to make more than the usual improvement), twelve pounds below their top-rated two-year-old Apalachee.