Classy Mary Eliza bounces back at Caulfield races

Redemption came quickly for Mary Eliza at Caulfield on Saturday, with the filly rebounding from a luckless Mornington run to score a classy victory in the GMH Fire & Safety Australia Handicap (1600m).

The daughter of Super Seth, trained by Katherine Coleman and Peter Moody, was well-supported as the $2.60 betting site favourite and justified the market’s faith, sitting just off the lead and showing determination to prevail by half a length.

“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.”

With a well-judged ride by Luke Cartwright, Mary Eliza fended off late closer I Only Wish ($41) with Muirfield ($18) another three-quarters-of-a-length behind in third.

Mary Eliza has now won two of her five starts and looks like she’s just scratching the surface of her ability. Coleman and Moody are keeping their options open with a trip to Queensland a chance depending on how she pulls up.

“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 said.

“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.”

Her win followed earlier success for Super Seth progeny on the Caulfield card, with Madiyya landing a benchmark 70 over 1400m to continue the stallion’s hot streak with three-year-old fillies.

Punters looking to follow Mary Eliza through the rest of her campaign — or back her next start — can compare the best fixed odds and promo offers through our updated betting sites list.