The Caulfield Finale card was full of classy winners

There were some very smart performances at Caulfield on Saturday that are worth noting in the black book for the spring.

Eight of the ten races at Caulfield on Saturday afternoon were of Listed level or above. It was missing a race at the top level, but there were horses with Group 1 form on show and a string of winners who will now have Group 1 races on their wish list for the autumn.

Worsening conditions as the card went on made it challenging for some, but there were four winners on the card who stood out as likely types to follow for the autumn. On a day where the girls dominated, it seems apt that they are all fillies and mares. 

Miraval Rose

Just the fourth career start for the three-year-old filly, picking up her second win to go along with a pair of runner-up efforts. She only failed by 0.1l in a Group 3 at this course before her Saturday win, so she looked well set to score dropped in grade to a Listed race, and she duly proved far too strong for them.

She was trying 1400m for the first time with Jordan Childs having no doubts about her stamina, sending her into the lead early and never looking in any trouble from there on out. That opens up more avenues to her in terms of distance, and with wins on good and soft ground, she is an adaptable filly who should rank an awful lot higher than her rating of 72 when winning on Saturday.

Serasana

The feature race on the card was the Group 2 Sandown Guineas. The Robbie Griffiths-trained filly was a surprise $13 winner, and perhaps she was helped by being closer to the speed than those who chased her home, but it was a comfortable 2.5l winning margin at the line.

Saturday was her first run over a distance as far as 1600m, and the Soft 7 surface was the softest she has run on in her career. The combination produced a career-best effort, and now connections know what she requires, she can be targeted for some nice prizes in the autumn.

Eneeza

Winner of the Listed two-year-old race on the day, she made no mistake in breaking her maiden at the second time of asking. Pitched into a Group 3 on her debut, she was runner-up that day, a comfortable 2.2l winner down slightly in class.

Her targets this prep suggest that she is well regarded, and while it is wise not to go overboard about the form of these early season races for this age group, she does shape as a well above average type. Her dam, Sweet Sherry, was a Group 2 winner, and by Exceed And Excel, she is built for speed.

Ghaanati

A track that started the day as a Soft 5 ended as a Soft 7, but that was no issue for the Snowden-trained mare in the final race on the card. She has been keeping slightly better company than this Listed level of late, runner-up in the Group 3 How Now Stakes over this same 1200 track and distance when last in action.

That Group 3 run came on a Good 3 surface, but the worsening conditions didn’t phase her at all, and she coped well with the soft ground to score narrowly. She has improved from a rating of 72 at the start of this prep in early October to 86. Her half-brother, Pride Of Dubai, was a multiple Group 1 winner and has sired the likes of Bella Nipotina so that she may be capable of better yet.

The black book continues to fill up as the spring meetings come to a close. There are few better feelings in racing than having big race winners sat there waiting for the right day. Hopefully, we have that with the four runners above in the autumn.