Trainer Katherine Coleman hasn’t fully moved past the disappointment of Mary Eliza’s Mornington Guineas run, but the filly’s strong victory at Caulfield on Saturday certainly helped ease the frustration.

The daughter of Super Seth bounced back with a determined effort to win the GMH Fire & Safety Australia Handicap (1600m), justifying her status as the $2.60 betting site favourite.

After enduring a luckless first-up run at Mornington where she was well backed but only managed seventh, Mary Eliza turned it around at Caulfield. Jockey Luke Cartwright capitalised on her light 51kg and pushed forward early, placing the filly just outside the lead to avoid traffic issues this time around.

“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 responded strongly to Cartwright’s urging in the straight, holding off a late challenge from outsider I Only Wish ($41) to win by half a length. Muirfield ($18) finished third, a further three-quarters-of-a-length away.

Saturday’s victory marked the second win from five career starts for Mary Eliza, whose only miss came at Mornington. Coleman revealed that Black Type ambitions are on the radar, with a trip to Queensland during the winter carnival not ruled out.

“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.”

Mary Eliza wasn’t the only standout for her Waikato Stud-based sire on the day, with Super Seth also producing Caulfield winner Madiyya, who made it two wins from three starts in a 1400m Benchmark 70 for three-year-old fillies.

With Mary Eliza gaining momentum and possibly heading north, punters eyeing futures or racing promotions can compare the top bookies using our complete betting sites list.