Sent out the second favourite on the strength of an impressive barrier trial win at Warwick Farm, the John O'Shea-trained Intrepidacious made every post a winner under Tye Angland in Friday night's 2YO Fillies Maiden (1100m) at Canterbury to become the first winner for Darley Stud's Caulfield Guineas winner Shooting To Win.
Intrepidacious kept up a strong gallop and was never threatened at any stage to defeat Ready's Girl (Better Than Ready) by two and three-quarter lengths with Chia (Rubick) a half-neck back in third.
Winner trainer John O'Shea said he was honoured to train the first winner by Shooting to Win.
"It's great for the stallion Shooting To Win who I brought but never got to train so it's great to train some of his progeny," O'Shea told Sky Racing.
Shooting To Win switched to the Snowden stable when O'Shea took the top job at Godolphin.
Tye Angland described Intrepidacious as foolproof.
"Her trial showed she had that beautiful tactical speed. I would have liked to sit outside one and follow one to help her get around a little bit easier," Angland said.
"The thing I like about it is she is doing it on raw talent - she still doesn't know what its all about so she has plenty of improvement when she works it out."
Consigned by Yarraman Park to book 2 of the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Intrepidacious (Pictured as a yearling) is the first foal of the unraced Fastnet Rock mare Courageous Kitty.
Herself a $400,000 yearling, Courageous Kitty is a sister to Anaheed a hugely impressive winner of the Victory Vein Plate when making her career debut at Randwick a fortnight back and a half-sister to the Frankel colt Farooq who was run down in the shadows of the post in the Listed Geelong Classic on Wednesday.
They are all out of the top-class Testa Rossa mare Rostova who won five stakes races highlighted by the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes and Group II VRC Sires' Produce Stakes.
A son of Northern Meteor, Shooting To Win is a brother to the speedball Deep Field and has beaten him to the punch as both retired to stud in 2015,
Shooting To Win stands the current season at Darley Stud for a reduced fee of $22,000 having covered for $33,000 last spring.
