Mighty Boss Rises to the Occasion in Caulfield Guineas

In the space of just over 90 seconds on Saturday, Mighty Boss (Not a Single Doubt) made his $180,000 purchase price at the 2016 Premier Sale at Karaka look very, very small.

The flashy chestnut colt came of age in spectacular style in the A$2 million Group 1 Ladbrokes Caulfield Guineas (1600m).

The victory earned his connections A$1.2 million in prizemoney and greatly enhanced his value beyond that, with the Guineas renowned as a stallion-making race. Its winners in the last two decades include Redoute’s Choice and Lonhro.

Despite being a grandson of an Oaks winner in La Volta (Laranto), Mighty Boss went into Saturday’s race with little in the way of exposed credentials for such a prestigious race. His five starts had yielded just one win and one placing in lower grades.

But he chose the perfect moment for his breakthrough performance, scything through along the inside of the track to edge out Kementari (Lonhro), Group 1-winning filly Catchy (Fastnet Rock) and the boom colt Royal Symphony (Domesday).

Mighty Boss was bred by Cobra Bloodstock Ltd and was offered by Curraghmore at the 2016 Premier Sale, where he was bought by trainer and part-owner Mick Price. He shares ownership of the colt with Teeley Assets Ltd.

“I think we've run placings in this race over the years, but it is a Caulfield Guineas,” Price said. “You do need luck in the race, and I thought it was a pretty strong race.

“Ever since he won his Sale maiden, we wanted to point him in, and point him in, and see if we could get him a run, and do our best and cross fingers.”