Caulfield trainer Mick Price has a good opinion of tough Moonee Valley winner Oceanex and believes the daughter of Ocean Park can tackle feature fillies' races in autumn.
The three-year-old filly closed well to win
the Dean & McPherson Catering Handicap (1600m) on Saturday in the hands of
Dwayne Dunn.
"She's a top-class filly," Dunn said.
"She didn't handle the corner at all well and I just had to take my medicine and the way she finished off she showed how good she is."
The lightly-raced Oceanex had previously scored by seven lengths at Geelong over 1700m on a Heavy9 track, and she handled the step-back in distance and the Good4 surface at Moonee Valley with aplomb.
"The win on the Heavy9 and doing it the way she did was awesome but you're always a bit concerned coming back to the mile around a little tight circuit," Dunn said.
"But she handled herself really well and she's got a great attitude and obviously the ability is there as well."
Price was pleased with the way the filly had come through the race on Sunday morning.
"Bodywise she has just started to mature into a nice Christmas three-year-old now and she looked great this morning," he said.
"She's not tucked up, she ate up well and she is sound, so I think we can train on.
"I have just got to work out a program. If you kept going and going I'd end up with no horse by March or April and I don't want to do that.
"I reckon it would be nice to think we could get her peaking for the Vinery Stakes (Gr.1, 2000m).
"Then if we thought she was a mile and a half filly we could run her in the Oaks (Gr.1, 2400m).
"I would say the Vinery would have a big circle around it at this stage."
Oceanex was a $70,000 NZB Premier purchase from the Milan Park draft for Mick Price Racing. – NZ Racing Desk
