Horse racing: Ohope Wins a dual Oaks winner after victory at Randwick

New Zealand filly Ohope Wins and James McDonald clinch the A$1 million Australian Oaks at Randwick on Saturday. Photo / Bradley Photos

So much can change in 100 days.

It was that long ago New Zealand 3-year-old filly Ohope Wins was a maiden and about to record her first victory at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day.

Fast forward 100 days and she is now a dual Oaks winner after adding the A$1 million ($1.2m) Australian Oaks at Randwick on Saturday to her New Zealand Oaks victory at Ellerslie on February 21.

She has also won the Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes and Ellis Classic at Te Rapa, both at Group 2 level, for one of the more incredible transformations from maiden to superstar filly in recent racing history.

Trained for her New Zealand victories by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, Ohope Wins was transferred to Chris Waller’s Sydney stable by new owners Yulong after her NZ Oaks win.

Her second Oaks win on Saturday was harder fought than her demolition jobs in New Zealand and she may be feeling the effects of that busy start to 2026.

But as a dual Oaks winner she has already done the job Yulong bought her to do, with any future wins almost a bonus before she joins its elite broodmare band.

The daughter of Ocean Park settled third last on Saturday in the hands of James McDonald, adopting her trademark New Zealand tactics before she swooped into the race and looked set to stride clear, but she had to be dogmatic to maintain her advantage over second favourite Profoundly and After Summer.

“She is a special filly and loved being back up to the 2400m,” said champion expat jockey James McDonald as he extended his consecutive Saturdays with a Group 1 winner to seven.

“We didn’t see the best of her in the Vinery last start [when fourth] but she also enjoyed the bigger track here at Randwick.”

Ohope Wins joins Bonneval and Pennyweka as fillies to recently complete the NZ-Australian Oaks double but hers has been the most meteoric rise as the latter pair had left maidens at 2 (Bonneval) and as an early 3-year-old in the case of Pennyweka.

They also won their Oaks at Trentham when the classic was held in late March and only three weeks out from the ATC Oaks, whereas Ohope Wins has had to hold her staying form longer, with seven weeks between her two Oaks victories.

She completes a remarkable strike rate with elite New Zealand fillies this season for Yulong as it also owns a half share in Well Written, who looks certain to be named New Zealand Horse of the Year at the season’s end.

It bought into Well Written before she won the NZ 1000 Guineas, Karaka Million 3-Year-Old and NZB Kiwi. Such success and Ohope Wins’ victory today are great for the New Zealand breeding and sales industries, including the buying of horses during their race careers, which is often where Yulong likes to shop.

Two Oaks victories, two Group 2 wins, two different trainers in two different countries and maybe even a shot as New Zealand Stayer of the Year for Ohope Wins.

Yes, a lot can change in 100 days.

Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.