Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Trained by Kerry Parker, the daughter of Dundeel (NZ) came into Friday’s event off the back of a victory at Rosehill on August 27 and she built on that performance when she defeated Riduna (Fastnet Rock) by 0.5l. Katalin (Medgalia D’Oro {USA}) was another 0.4l away in third.
Born and raised on Torryburn, the 4-year-old is out of placed Montjeu (Ire) mare Hayaat, who the Illes’ picked up for a mere $500 at the Inglis Sydney Autumn Thoroughbred Sale in 2011.
Hope In Your Heart is the fourth foal they have bred out of the mare, who have all been winners.
Hope In Your Heart as a foal
With four wins on her CV and $300,750 in prizemoney, Hope In Your Heart - who finished third in the G3 Kembla Grange Classic in March - has richly repaid the Illes’ shrewd investment they made back in 2011 and Mel Copelin, Torryburn’s Stud Manager told TDN AusNZ that she believes the best is yet come from the 4-year-old.
“She is owned by Alex and Deidre Illes and they have been really good friends of the Cornish Family and it was just really great to see them have that Group win today (Friday) because they love racing so much,” she said.
“The mare has been a bargain buy for the Illes and she came to Torryburn after they bought her and Hope In Your Heart was born here.
Mel Copelin | Image courtesy of Torryburn Stud
“She really deserved the win today, having run in three Group 1s last season on those Heavy tracks and she wasn’t many lengths off them.”
Copelin said, given the way the mare is bred, she was confident the further she went and she was looking forward to seeing her step up in trip.
“We have always been hopeful she was going to come through and it was great to see her do it today (Friday). I think the future is bright for her and there are a lot of mare races they can take her to,” he said.
“Once she gets over the mile, I think she will be really exciting. I think the way she is bred and the way she has gone through her career so far, you would always expect her to improve with age, so I think this season and the next, we’re going to see the best of her.”
“I think the way she (Hope In Your Heart) is bred... you would always expect her to improve with age, so I think this season and the next, we’re going to see the best of her.” - Mel Copelin
Meanwhile, Parker said he had always held the mare in high regard, but that she has taken a bit of time to mature.
“Today was a test,” Parker said. “It set us up to see where we go. She is definitely up to those mares races, so it’s a nice stepping stone.
“To get black type is super for her pedigree. I’ve had four out of the mare, and all have been city winners, but she is the first to get black type. I’ve always had a huge opinion of her. She has just been a temperamental young lady who needed to grow up a little.”
Dundeel (NZ) | Standing at Arrowfield Stud
In winning the race, the mare hands her Arrowfield Stud-based sire Dundeel with his 18th stakes winner and Copelin said they opted to send the mare to the son of High Chaparral (Ire) in 2017, believing he was good value at $27,500 (inc GST). The stallion's fee has since shot up and he now stands for $66,000 (inc GST).
“When we were thinking about where to send her, I told Alex that I liked Dundeel because he had had some really nice foals and because she was always destined to be a breed to race, I thought the fee at the time was good for a breed to race,” Copelin recalled.
"She was a really neat foal, who was normal-sized and she just cruised under the radar and it went really well.”
"She (Hope In Your Heart) was a really neat foal, who was normal-sized and she just cruised under the radar and it went really well.” - Mel Copelin
Despite now being 20 years old, Hayaat is still enjoying life as a broodmare and in 2021 she foaled a Castelvecchio three-quarter brother to Hope In Your Heart and she is booked to the stallion again this spring. Castelvecchio stands alongside his father Dundeel at Arrowfield for a fee of $27,500 (inc GST).
“Illes’ have got five mares on the farm and some of the yearlings will go to the sales and some will be retained to race, it’s about 50-50,” said Copelin.
“Hayaat has a Castelvecchio yearling colt and she is going back to Castelvecchio again. The Castelvecchio is very similar to Hope In Your Heart and they are both very much in the mould of the Montjeu mare, they are not overly big but they are all tough as nails, just like the mare.”
