Ohope Wins Gives Ocean Park His 25th Stakes Winner

Having just her fourth start and relishing the step up to 2000m for the first time, 3yo Ocean Park filly Ohope Wins highlighted her class at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day, winning the G2 Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes by more than two lengths.

Visually impressive with a fast finishing second last time out, the filly settled back in the field at Ellerslie, many lengths from the leaders.

As they entered the long Ellerslie straight, jockey Joe Doyle asked his mount for an effort and she came thundering down the outside, and in what seemed like a matter of strides, reeled in the leader to pull clear by two and a quarter-lengths to not only break her maiden, but add a valuable black type victory to her record.

Ridden by Doyle for just the second time, having also ridden her on debut, the jockey was very impressed with the effort of the filly.

“She is special as we were a long way back and had a lot of ground to make up,” Doyle said.

“She is really laid back and when I started to give her a hard squeeze she came up underneath me and has won quite cosily in the end.

“I just think she has Oaks (Gr.1, 2400m) written all over her as she will be majorly competitive.”

Nominated for the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) which will be run at Ellerslie this year on 21 February, the filly looks more than capable of giving Ocean Park his first Oaks winner, and fifth individual elite level scorer.

“Andrew and I have always believed in this filly and that was why we were lining her up today in a Group Two as a maiden,” he said.

“Hopefully she will be running in the Oaks or the Derby, or races like that in the future.

“The best way to describe her is that she is a pet. She has a temperament where she doesn’t waiver with anything and that will hold her in good stead moving forward.

“We won’t make any plans today but come Monday morning Andrew and I will work out a programme for her.

“We had said to Joe to just ride her as you find her as with races like these you know half of the field are not going to stay as they are having their first crack at the distance.

“We were hoping he could come to the outside and get some clear air and he summed it up nicely, it was a great ride.

“We have always thought she was a stayer from day dot and nothing has changed that opinion.”

Bred and raced by Bill Gartshore and his family under their Gartshore Bloodstock banner, Ohope Wins is out of the Redoute’s Choice half-sister to New Zealand Horse of the Year and five-time G1 winner Jimmy Choux.

There will be five yearling sby Ocean Park offered in Book 1 of the 2026 New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale, with Lot 417, a filly from the family of G1 winner Railings, set to be offered as part of the Waikato Stud draft.