Alex & Deidre Iles’ lovely home-bred mare Hope In Your Heart made her third Group-winning contribution to Dundeel’s outstanding season with a spirited victory in the $250,000 ATC Guy Walter S. 1400m G2 at Randwick.
The 4YO mare made it look easy as she powered up from a tricky position to take control 100 metres from home and nail her sixth and most valuable success.
It’s also the 4th stakes win on Dundeel’s record in the past 8 days, after the trans-Tasman Group double by Aquacade & Elliptical last Saturday, and The Inevitable’s Hellova Street S. LR victory in Launceston on Wednesday.
Trainer Kerry Parker said, “She’s got a huge heart, they’ve named her really well. She’s got plenty of it. She had to push her way out there today which was really tough and once she got to the outside I thought it’s game over.
“I was pretty confident coming here, this will be the weakest race she’ll run in this prep and I’m hoping she can just keep taking the next steps now.”
The $600,000 Coolmore Classic G1 on 11 March is most definitely on Hope In Your Heart’s agenda, and she is also nominated for the Queen of the Turf, Doncaster Mile & the Queen Elizabeth, all at Group 1 level.
Hope In Your Heart (ex Hayaat by Montjeu, from the family of Dundeel’s damsire Zabeel) is the 8th winner from Dundeel’s 14 stakes starters since 1 January. He now sits alongside Snitzel on the current Australian Sires’ list by stakes wins with a tally of 12-and-counting.
The Iles have retained Hope In Your Heart’s yearling three-quarter brother, already named Walk Like A Man (by Castelvecchio), and Hayaat is in foal to Dundeel.
Dundeel has 16 fillies & 11 colts on offer at next month’s Inglis Premier Sale among them Lot 355, a filly whose pedigree features the double presence of Sadler’s Wells also seen in the pedigrees of Hope In Your Heart and dual stakeswinner Dunkel.
– Arrowfield Stud
