Champion jockey Damien Oliver had his first look at boom Sydney three-year-old colt Mo’unga at Caulfield and he liked what he saw.
Oliver partnered the unbeaten galloper in a trackwork hitout on Tuesday, ahead of riding him in the Caulfield Guineas where he has drawn barrier 11.
Mo’unga is now second favourite for the Group One race behind Ole Kirk following the scratching of Glenfiddich, who had been prominent in markets.
Mo’unga, a son of Savabeel who is trained by Chris Waller, has had three starts for a debut win on the Gold Coast and a victory at Newcastle before taking out the Listed Dulcify Stakes at Rosehill.
Waller has trained two of the past five Caulfield Guineas winners in Press Statement in 2015 and The Autumn Sun in 2018.
Oliver believes Waller might be on his way to claiming another and said he was impressed by Mo’unga and happy with the way he handled Caulfield.
“I was really pleased with him. He feels like a classy three-year-old,” Oliver said.
“He’s quite mature for a three-year-old who has had limited racing. Most importantly he seemed to adapt to Caulfield quite well.
“He’s a scopey three-year-old and he’s quite fit. He carries the Waller polish and he took everything in his stride.
“He comes from races with strong Sydney form and that’s been working well so far this spring.”
Oliver’s last Caulfield Guineas (1600m) win was in 1990 aboard Centro.