An outside barrier will do nothing to stop super colt Pierro from winning this Saturday’s $1 million Caulfield Guineas, according to owner Greg Kolivos.
The Gai Waterhouse-trained Pierro has drawn gate seven in the eight-horse field.
Aiming for his ninth win in succession and trying to become the fifth horse to complete the Golden Slipper-Caulfield Guineas double, Pierro, who has a stranglehold on favouritism at $1.28, will jump alongside Ashokan in alley eight.
The Mick Price-trained Let Go Lenni ($21) drew the inside barrier while Epaulette, second favourite at $7.50, starts from six.
Pierro scored his first Melbourne win on September 28 when he ambled to the line five lengths ahead of Carringbush Jack in the Group Two Stutt Stakes(1600m) at Moonee Valley.
Despite his success, Kolivos admitted the win had been a relief.
“Without a doubt,” Kolivos said. “There was a lot of belief in the horse but there is a relief, you still want to come down and do it.
“As much as you think he should do easily what you ask, it still is a huge relief to do so.”
Kolivos said Pierro’s barrier seven “sounds perfect”.
“It’s a smallish field. Tactics do play a part in this sort of race, but it’s still a race.
“Each and every race he’s stepped up in where people thought there were reasons why he couldn’t do what he did he’s raised the bar and he’s done it each time.
“And as he’s stepped up in trip he seems to have gotten more and comfortable and more dominant in his performances.”
Pierro produced a sizzling workout at Flemington on Tuesday morning in front of Waterhouse.
“It was really his second piece of work over the last couple of weeks after Moonee Valley and he ran some fabulous times,” Kolivos said.
“He took a few of our breaths away, actually.
“If he produces that on Saturday he’s going to be very hard to beat,” he said.
Pierro will be trying to join Manikato, Luskin Star, Vain and Storm Queen as Golden Slipper winners who have won the Caulfield Guineas.
“If he can add his name to that list it will be an enormous thrill and, all being well, he can do that on Saturday,” Kolivos said.
Despite Pierro’s unbeaten record, Kolivos said he was not over-confident.
“I still look at it and say it is still a race – you’ve got a Group One winner in there, a Group Two winner in All Too Hard, a Group One placegetter, and all these horses have been set for this race.
“They’re not going to give it to us and we don’t expect that at all,” he said.
