La Farina was a "light and narrow"[1] chestnut horse with four white socks bred in France by his owner Edouard Alphonse de Rothschild.

In the following month he recorded his first major victory when he won the colts' division of the Prix La Rochette over 1100 metres at Longchamp Racecourse.

[4] In the spring of 1914, La Farina finished second to Listman in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains and ran third behind Durbar (later to win The Derby) in the Prix Biennale.

After a prolonged struggle, Sardanapale got the better of La Farina 100 metres from the finish and won by a neck, with a gap of four lengths back to Durbar in third place.

The authors commented that La Farina's defeat in the Grand Prix "prevented him receiving the recognition he deserved a one of France's greatest horses".