King Cougar is one up on his mother already after he justified his favouritism with a runaway debut win at Awapuni on Monday.

The Alamosa three-year-old is the first and only foal of the late Red Cougar, who was the subject of a notable betting plunge in 2011. In her first appearance at Trentham, she finished runner-up at win odds of $1.50.

She was trained by Mike Breslin, who also prepares her son and he said King Cougar had derived significant benefit from a recent trial at Waverley.

“He really improved with a trial and he’s a lot stronger now so we’ll carry on.”