Shooting To Win’s lightly raced daughter Ms Catherine is blessed with loads of natural speed, which she used to full effect at Moonee Valley on Friday night when leading every step of the way in the Group III Typhoon Tracy Stakes (1200m).
The fleet-footed, Henry Dwyer-trained, filly kept her record at a perfect three for three to provide apprentice Georgina Cartwright with the biggest win of her career to date.
After taking her maiden at Bendigo last November, Ms Catherine was off the scene for ten weeks when showing blistering speed to romp home by four and a half lengths over 1000 metres at Moonee Valley on February 7 to earn Breednet One To Watch status.
Godolphin’s former top two-year-old filly Tenley (Medaglia d’Oro) finished hard to miss by a neck with Don'ttelltheboss (Street Boss) three-quarters of a length back in third to give Darley stallions the trifecta.
Cartwright, who has been on Ms Catherine in all three starts, said it was a career highlight.
“It’s great for the team. All the stable staff are here today to support us and it’s great of Henry and the owners to have kept me on, it’s a great thrill,” Cartwright said.
Shooting To Win
“The 1200 metres was a bit of a question mark but I have never really have had to let her head go and get her to her top before so she had to dig a bit more and I was really impressed by her.
“I’ve only ever had one other ride in a Group race so this is a great thrill.”
Dwyer said it was a just reward for Cartwright's work ethic.
“I’m very proud of her to be honest. She has done it the tough way, been ban apprentice for a long time and she comes to the end of it at the end of the year,” Dwyer said.
“I would have liked to have given her more rides but sometimes it’s not the easiest sell, a female apprentice but (owners) Tony and Joe Bongiorno gave her the green light as she loves the horse and rides her trackwork every morning and she didn’t put a foot wrong tonight.
“When they win two from two this time of year you have to throw them in the deep end, particularly with fillies.
“Tony and Joe own several fillies in the family so it’s good for all the fillies.
“We have in mind the three-year-old race in Adelaide (the Group II Euclase Stakes (1200)).
Ms Catherine is the fifth winner from six to race out of the Bongiorno family’s crack race mare Lucky Diva whose 11 wins included the Group III MRC Hyderabad Stakes.
A daughter of Sadler's Wells and Fairy King’s three-quarter brother Perugino (USA), Lucky Diva is a sister to the Listed stakes-winner Gina Lollawitcha and a half-sister to Group III winner and Group 1 Sydney Cup third Spirit Of Westbury and Listed winner Duke Of Westbury.
Lucky Diva foaled a full-sister to Ms Catherine last spring and was bred back to Shooting To Win’s brother Deep Field.
Ms Catherine becomes the first stakes-winner for Darley Stud’s Group 1 Caulfield Guineas winner Shooting To Win who is coming off a season where he covered a career-high 177 mares at a fee of $22,000 at Darley’s Hunter Valley property at Aberdeen.
