Fresh off the Gosford Guineas success of Caffe Florian, Richard Litt could be celebrating again on New Year’s Day courtesy of seasoned sprinter Barber in the Canterbury Sprint.
The former Godolphin galloper joined Litt’s Warwick Farm stable in April and has continued to perform consistently since making the switch.
Barber will jump from barrier one in the 15-horse field for the Listed 1200m feature at Canterbury and Litt is confident the five-year-old’s class and experience will hold him in good stead.
“What a wonderful horse to have in the stable,” Litt said.
“He’s going very, very well and he’s been great to his owners. You know, they’re very hard races to win all the time. Those sorts of black type listed sprint races are so competitive.”
Barber’s transition to the stable was aided by Litt’s strong relationship with Godolphin, a move that has already paid dividends with victory in the Listed Takeover Target Stakes (1200m) in May.
“We have a very good connection with Godolphin and their horses and their staff,” Litt said.
“So we always keep an eye on these horses and Monarch Racing bought him and paid a lot of money ($215,000) in December last year.”
“He’s going to pick up a couple of more wins and he’s going to be a load of fun over the next 12 to 18 months.
“We love him. We absolutely love him.”
Litt will also be represented by Tutto in the Ranvet Plate (1900m), a horse he believes will appreciate stepping up to 2000 metres, while Tennessee Dolly lines up in the Hyland Race Colours Plate (1200m) after suffering some tough luck in recent outings.
Early markets for the Canterbury Sprint are available via the Australian betting sites list.