[3] On her first appearance as a three-year-old Circus Plume ran in the Sir Charles Clore Memorial Stakes over ten furlongs at Newbury Racecourse in May.

Ridden by Lester Piggott, she started at odds of 4/1 with the American-bred Optimistic Lass being made favourite after her win in the Musidora Stakes.

[6] Circus Plume's victory enabled Piggott to draw level with Frank Buckle as the winners of twenty-seven classics.

She made rapid progress in the closing stages, but was unable to catch the Irish-trained Princess Pati and finished second, beaten two lengths.

She tracked the pacemakers before taking the lead in the straight, at which point the race devolved into a match between Circus Plume and the French filly Northern Trick.

[8] The independent Timeform organisation gave Circus Plume a rating of 124 in 1984, seven pounds below the top-rated three-year-old filly Northern Trick.

[9] In their book A Century of Champions, based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Circus Plume as an "average" Oaks winner.