Caffe Florian stamps quality in the Gosford Guineas | Just horse racing

A filly can do little more in her initial competition preparation than go the extra mile every time asked, and Caffe Florian did just that by winning the Listed Gosford Guineas.

Trainer Richard Litt tried to take away all the pressure surrounding the daughter of Snitzel’s first attempt at black type status by not having any expectations of her this time and not thinking about anything other than these 1200 meters.

“Super filly and what she has done in this preparation is pretty amazing,” Litt said.

“Jason rode her beautifully and looked after her around the corner. I think there is so much more improvement in her and she will now go to the paddock.

“We will take care of her and she will come back a much better horse. We were happy to come here.”

“Too much pressure for me,” said the Warwick Farm-based company when asked about future plans, and at this stage there is nothing but a period before higher goals.

With the speed up in the early stages, Jason Collett aboard Caffe Florian ($1.75F) settled into the second half of the field and made a move for the turn, with the filly looping the opponent to win by a half-length margin from the Michael Freedman-trained Mareth ($5) in second with Memo ($4.60) – who was hampered in the straight – a length and a half away in third.

“She did it pretty easily and the pace was good early,” Collett said.

“She wouldn’t want to continue at this point because she’s still learning what it’s about.

“We made an early move when the pace dropped at the start of the turn and she won it softly in the end.”

Caffe Florian finished third on her debut at Canterbury on November 14 and has now made it three wins in a row in her four starts, including the $400,000 purchase at the 2024 Inglis Easter Sale after clawing back $171,000 in prize money.

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