The talent of Shooting To Win and Felines shone through at Canterbury on Wednesday with the youngsters running one-two in the opening race despite their wayward performances.

In a dramatic start to the meeting, odds-on favourite Felines threw away her winning chances when she ran off the track in the home straight.

Apprentice Taylor Marshall was able to balance her sufficiently to make another charge over the final bounds, failing by a long neck to gather in Shooting To Win.

"Really, she has run quite an amazing race in all," presiding steward Ray Livingstone said of her effort.

Felines didn't run straight for long, tossing Marshall off shortly after the winning post and ducking up the 1500m shute.

She unsuccessfully attempted to jump a fence, displacing a section of rail before she was captured by the clerk of the course.

Marshall was unharmed and continued to ride at the meeting.

Shooting To Win's shenanigans weren't as serious but he did surprise trainer Peter Snowden by wanting to lay out over the final 200 metres, doing just enough to cling to a long-neck victory.

"I was disappointed he did what he did. He's a better horse than that," Snowden said.

"He's still very new as you see, that's just baby stuff. He saw one run out and he wanted to go out and follow it.

"He will be better suited out to 1400 metres and on a bigger track. He's a talented horse but he's a long way off being where he should be at the moment."

Snowden had been considering spelling Shooting To Win after Wednesday with a view to races in the spring but the youngster's greenness has forced a rethink.

"I think he needs to have another race. I had contemplated giving him a bit of a breather now but after today he needs some more racing so I will at least give him one more run," Snowden said.

Shooting To Win's victory in the TAB Early Quaddie Plate (1250m) was his second from as many starts and followed an impressive triumph on debut at Kembla Grange last month.

Kris Lees, trainer of Felines, said she had shown wayward tendencies in her previous starts but not to the degree she did at Canterbury.

"I thought she was getting a bit better with each run," Lees said.

The filly must pass a barrier trial test before she is cleared to race again.