There was good reason to be at Caulfield yesterday for champagne racing at it best, with Fiorente’s appearance in the weight for age Peter Young Stakes on top of the list.

Some thought the Melbourne Cup winner looked a bit big, you would expect that, there is a tough campaign ahead of him, the Australian Cup, then Sydney, and Royal Ascot could also be begging.

If he was going to be beaten he would have been beaten yesterday, he was looking pretty vulnerable at the halfway stage of the race giving the leaders a bigger start than Damian Oliver would have anticipated.

However, when Oliver asked for the supreme effort he put in, as horses of his class generally do, the good ones don’t shirk the issue.

Gai Waterhouse was there singing the praises of Fiorente and rightly so, he is a class act with Melbournians, they will have another chance to see him in the Australian Cup next Saturday week.

“ It was like the Melbourne Cup all over again,”she said “it’s nice when you’ve won a major race to be able to come and back up so well, he only won the race in the last 75 meters, “ she added.

Fiorente about to claim the leaders in the Peter Young Stakes