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Hungry Heart lands second Group 1 in Australian Oaks

Juddmonte Farms stallion Frankel (Galileo) enjoyed another fine day in Australia as the Chris Waller-trained Hungry Heart (3 f Frankel - Harlech by Pivotal) landed her second Group 1 when she took out the Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) at Randwick, while the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Converge (2 g ex Conversely by Shamardal) was victorious in The Agency Real Estate Mile (registered as Fernhill Stakes) (Listed, 1600m) which saw the son of Galileo’s (Sadler’s Wells) stakes tally climb to 63. 

Last seen winning the Vinery Stud Stakes (registered as Storm Queen Stakes) (Gr 1, 2000m), Hungry Heart won the Sweet Embrace Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) in February last year and ran well in the autumn when finishing second in the Furious Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), Tea Rose Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) and Flight Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m). 

The three-year-old filly resumed this preparation with a seventh place finish in the Light Fingers Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), before placing eighth in the Surround Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m), but signalled she was back to something like her old form when claiming the Phar Lap Stakes (Gr 2, 1500m), which she duly followed up with a first Group 1 victory in the Vinery Stud Stakes on April 3. 

In a slowly run race, Kerrin McEvoy settled Hungry Heart within striking distance and she surged to the front and quickly had the race in her keeping to score by a length and a quarter from the fast-finishing Duais (Shamus Award), while Bargain (Ocean Park) was a further head away in third. 

New Zealand Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Amarelinha (Savabeel) travelled well into the race, but didn’t have enough pace to go with the leaders, eventually finishing another length away in fourth. 

"Yeah, very special,” Waller said. “As we said after her first Group 1 win a few weeks back the international stage is what racing's all about. People are recognising Australian racing for all the right reasons during Covid and when you've got a Frankel filly winning the Australian Oaks I think it's pretty special.

"She backed up that good run two weeks ago and it's a good advertisement for our system. We had her running in the Golden Slipper and now she's running at the extreme distance (2400 metres) for a three-year-old filly, so thanks to my team and obviously a great ride by Kerrin McEvoy.

"To start with she's good and she's just matured with age. As a two-year-old she used to get on her toes and be a bit bubbly as you'd expect a young filly to be. As a three-year-old now, only 12 months later she's really matured into a relaxed beautiful horse to work with."

Bred by Yulong, the filly was bought back by Damon Gabbedy’s Belmont Bloodstock Agency at the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale being knocked down for $300,000, Hungry Heart is out of British-bred Pivotal (Polar Falcon) mare Harlech, who was herself purchased by Seamus Mills Bloodstock and Yulong at the 2016 Tattersalls July Sale for 60,000gns. 

Yulong subsequently offered her carrying the filly at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Broodmare Sale and she failed to make her $540,000 reserve. 

Harlech herself is out of Listed winner Zoowraa (Azamour), making her a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Maamora (Dubawi). 

The filly’s third dam is the Group 3-winning Beraysim (Lion Cavern), who produced five winners headed by Listed winner Zoowraa (Azamour) who is the dam of Harlech. Further back this is the family of Grade 3 winner Ribbon (Her Majesty) - the dam of Grade 1 winner Risen Star (Secretariat) and Listed-winning pair Woven Silk (Danzig) and Silk Braid (Danzig).

Harlech’s filly by Snitzel was passed in at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale after failing to making her $650,000 reserve and the mare was covered by Yulong’s resident sire Alabama Express (Redoute’s Choice) in December. 

Earlier on at Randwick, Converge announced himself as a legitimate contender for the Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) when he landed The Agency Real Estate Mile. 

The gelding broke his maiden over 1200 metres at Warwick Farm on December 9 and was most recently seen finishing second in the Schweppervescence Handicap (Gr 3, 1400m) at Rosehill on April 3. 

Tim Clark settled the gelding one off the speed and he showed an impressive burst of speed to come away with a length and a quarter victory over Maurice’s Medad (Maurice), while Akahata (Pins) was another head away in third. 

Bred and raced by Evergreen Rich, the gelding is the first winner out of the placed Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway) mare Conversely, who is herself a daughter of Grade 3 scorer Melhor Ainda (Pulpit). 

Melhor Ainda herself is out of Brazilian Grade 1 winner Portrinner (Potrillazo), making her a half-sister to Japanese Listed winner Danon Go Go (Aldebaran).

In winning the Listed race, the gelding became Frankel’s 15th stakes-winning two-year-old and these are headed by Group 1-winning trip Quadrilateral, Soul Stirring and Grenadier Guards. 

Frankel’s statistics in Australia make for impressive reading, with the stallion having 22 winners from 35 starts, with seven of those stakes winners, which fires at a 14.4 per cent strike rate of runners to stakes winners. Hungry Heart is one of two elite level winners for the stallion, with the other being Mirage Dancer.

Juddmonte Farms’ UK stud director Simon Mockridge told Racing & Sports Bloodstock that Frankel’s appeal when he retired to stud after his unbeaten career on the track stretched globally, which ultimately saw some of the biggest names in bloodstock support him with some of their best mares. 

“I think it is important to remember that when he retired to stud there was a global appeal to the horse. He had no doubt set the bar extremely high in terms of his race record,” said Mockridge. “That meant some very, very good breeders flocked to use him - people like John Singleton, John Camilleri, Bruce Neill and of course YuLong Investments. 

“We know how tough it is to come down to Australia and to compete and his average southern hemisphere bred crop sizes aren’t big, so they are limited opportunities so he has done incredibly well. The winners to runners ratio is nearly 80 per cent and his stakes winners to runners ratio is also very good in Australia, so we are delighted with what he is achieving. 

“Hungry Heart was very unfortunate last year. I thought she should have won, possibly two Group 1s last year, so the fact that she was able to bounce back this season is phenomenal and she was very, very good today.”

Mockridge was also delighted to see the stallion snare a two-year-old stakes race in Australia and did not underestimate the importance of this feat, given how competitive juvenile racing is in the country. 

“It was also nice to see Converge the two-year-old win,” said Mockridge. “It is always great to have a stakes-winning two-year-old, because that is what catches the attention of the Australian breeders, that speed element is very important for a stallion in Australia. 

“I can’t wait to see what Converge does next, especially if he goes to a Group 1 next, but by the same token we are aware that it is tough to win those Group 1 two-year-old races in Australia.”