He may have been having his first start in Melbourne but superstar colt Pierro looked right at home when cruising to a comfortable victory in the Group 2 Bill Stutt Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley.

Pierro

Pierro's first start in Melbourne produces a comfortable win in the Group 2 Bill Stutt Stakes. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia

The Gai Waterhouse-trained colt was already a short-priced favourite for the Caulfield Guineas but now looks almost unbeatable after scoring a five-length win and taking his record to eight undefeated starts.

Pierro jumped cleanly from barrier three before regular jockey Nash Rawiller elected to take a sit behind Carringbush Jack who set the pace up front.

As they approached the home turn Rawiller allowed the son of Lonhro to wind up and he kicked clear and galloped away without any pressure from his six rivals.

Waterhouse was full of typical praise for the colt who will be back at Moonee Valley in October for the Cox Plate provided he gets through the Caulfield Guineas unscathed.

“He’s just such an exciting colt. It was just a galloping lesson,” Waterhouse told TVN.

“The way he lowered himself and found the line and his acceleration at the end of the race. That was the best thing.”

Rawiller said Pierro handled the track like he’d “been there a hundred times” and is excited about riding him in the Caulfield Guineas on October 13.

“He’s going on to better things so he needed this tonight. I wanted to be as soft as possible but still make him get the job done and get a bit of improvement out of it,” he said.

“He’s just such an adaptable horse. He took the first turn like he’d been round it a hundred times.

“He’s trained by Gai Waterhouse. I knew she’d have him ready for tonight and there’s still plenty of improvement to come.”

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