High Hopes For Filly Fulfilled

14 November 2011

Hope So displayed a turn of foot reminiscent of her famous father when she made a dream debut at Te Awamutu. Bred and raced by WS and trained for them by Graeme and Debbie Rogerson, she had the benefit of three preparatory trials leading in to her first raceday outing today and she delivered in grand style.

She settled back in pack for rider Jason Collett and was still some distance of the leader turning for home. However, once she was into the clear she produced an explosive finish to come between runners and win going away.

Hope So is a daughter of sire Fast ‘N’ Famous who was an outstanding sprinting son of Redoute’s Choice. He was the winner of six of his 13 starts including the Gr 3 Gilgai Stakes and the Listed Starlight Stakes and was Gr 1 placed in the Galaxy Handicap, All-Aged Stakes and the BTC Cup.

Out of the winning Last Tycoon mare Viveasha, Hope So is a half-sister to the Gr 1 Queensland Derby winner Lachlan River (Pins). Former stud resident and dual Gr 1 Salinger Stakes and Oakleigh Plate winner Sudurka, Gr 1 AJC Oaks winner My Brilliant Star and the Gr 1 Toorak Handicap winner Shot Of Thunder all also feature in the pedigree.

Savabeel, from furthering a legacy to creating his own – The Straight

A true Australasian success story on the track and in the breeding shed, the influence of Savabeel, who died last week aged 24, will be felt for years to come on both sides of the …

23 June 2026

Sav’s final resting place

“I’ve got a couple of very special bottles of wine that I’ve had for a number of years, and usually they would have been opened on a celebration, but I thought it was very pertinent, and well, it was a celebration, it was a celebration of his life,” Mark Chittick told The Straight.