Katherine Coleman is not yet ready to say the pain of the Mornington Guineas is forgotten, but Mary Eliza’s performance at Caulfield on Saturday went a long way to softening the blow.
The Waikato Stud-bred filly rebounded to win the GMH Fire & Safety Australia Handicap (1600m).
The daughter of Super Seth never got a crack at them first-up at Mornington, when well-backed and had to settle for seventh placing, but Luke Cartwright took up a forward position under the light weight of 51kg and she responded with an impressive win.
“Speaking pre-race, we said if she begins well and you can slide to that spot and take a bit of luck out of the equation it’s going to make things a whole lot easier,” Coleman said.
“After the way it panned out at Mornington last start, it was very pleasing to see her settle there just outside the leader.”
Mary Eliza, the $2.60 betting site favourite, held off the fast-finishing I Only Wish ($41) to score a half-length win, with Muirfield ($18) three-quarters-of-a-length away third.
It was Mary Eliza’s second win from five starts, with the Mornington effort her only unplaced run, and Coleman said the prospect of chasing three-year-old Black Type in Queensland was a possibility, but it was seasons ahead that have her and co-trainer Peter Moody most excited.
“She’s a filly that we’ve always had a good opinion of, she’s so well-bred and she’s a lovely filly to have around, but we’ve just had to be patient with her and give her her chance to mature,” Coleman sad.
“Even still, she doesn’t quite look there yet, she’s still a little bit babyish and a little bit light and whatever she does this preparation she’s going to improve upon.”
Mary Eliza was the second Caulfield winner for Waikato-based Super Seth, who earlier in the day saw Madiyya register her second win from just three starts in the 1400m benchmark 70 for three-year-old fillies.
