The Tony McEvoy-trained filly She Shao Fly did not have a lot go right at her career debut over 1200 metres at Sandown-Lakeside on Monday but she showed true grit to sustain a run from second last to overpower the favourited Lady Naturaliste.
Caught three wide the trip, the daughter of Epaulette began to over-race when Luke Currie tried to steady her. She stood up Lady Naturaliste five lengths with three hundred metres left to run but would not be denied, opening her winning account with a half-neck win over Lady Naturaliste (Choisir) with Fling (All Too Hard) two lengths back in third.
"She was slowly away, got caught wide, pulled and got a lot wrong and still won so it was a nice effort," Currie said.
"Obviously Tony knows his horses so well and he is especially good with these young horses. The addition of blinker4s before her last jump out proved really beneficial and when I asked her to flatten she knew how to do it."
Stable representative Michael Shepherdson also said the blinkers had switched the filly on.
"She has really jumped out of the ground in the past 10 days since we put the blinkers on her," Shepherdson told AAP.
"In her trial at Pakenham, she was only there for an easy one but she only trialled fairly.
"Tony then put a set of blinkers on and since then she's just changed.
"They are a good tool when they work.
"She improved into her trial at Werribee and now she's improved again to today.
"We probably didn't really expect that. You never quite know with two-year-old first starters and there was some form in that race, but she will find her way into a nice race you'd think to see where we sit."
A $67,500 purchase by Bennett Racing/McEvoy Mitchell Racing out of the Ambergate Farm draft at the 2018 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale, She ShaoFly (pictured as a yearling) is a half-sister to three winners including the stakes-placed Samurai Blade (Where's The Tiger) who placed in both the Group 1 South Australian Derby and Group 1 South African Classic.
She's Shao Fly's dam Shao Shao (Shinko Forest) is a winning sister to the well-travelled Dao Dao the winner of the Listed Royal Parma Stakes and runner-up in the Group 1 Emirates Stakes and Group 1 MRC Futurity Stakes.
Shao Shao was purchased by E Thoroughbreds for just $5,000 at the 2011 National Broodmare Sale. She missed in 2016 and 2017 before being covered by Reward For Effort last spring.
She Shao Fly extends the winning run being enjoyed by Darley Stud's Epaulette whose recent metropolitan winners includes The Eagle Farm winner Epaumada and the Flemington winner Tropezina.
