Yarradale Stud-bred graduate Gift Of The Heart increased his career earnings to $276,000 with a heartfelt victory in the TABtouch Hcp (1230m) in Albany on Thursday.

The aptly-named grey gelding races for a large syndicate with trainer Roy Rogers and 50% of his prizemoney is donated to the Janine Chalwell Grant.  Janine passed away in 2020 and her husband Chris, along with their immediate family, established the charity to help fund melanoma research.

Chris is a former Perth Racing Vice-Chairman and their daughter Erin has a share in Gift Of The Heart who races in the same red silks that were so successful for Sir Ernest Lee-Steere aboard the likes of WATC Derby winners Heroicity and Belele.  His grandson Selby Lee-Steere is also a member of the syndicate.

Gift Of The Heart (6g Bradbury's Luck - Passion Cantata by Oratorio) was racing second-up following a six month spell yesterday and served notice he’s far from a spent force in the Great Southern.  Apprentice Jefferson Tsang sent him forward to sit at the girth of front-runner Avoidance (Snitzel) and he kept finding in the straight to score by a length over the favourite Flick The Switch (Sessions).

Back in January 2023, he was a 3yo maiden winner at Albany and then made the grade in town as a 4yo with wins at Ascot and Belmont.  He was thrown in at the deep end in the second edition of the $400,000 Bluff Knoll (1099m) at Albany in March but there were excuses for the 10-length loss.

Stewards reported he blundered leaving the barriers and returned to scale with self-inflicted lacerations to the near-fore cannon.  “He anticipated the start and went down on his nose,” Rogers recalled.  “I replaced the Tongue Tie with a Tongue Clip and he redeemed himself with a well-deserved hat-track in April.  His owners have been patient and supportive through some testing times while getting him back to his true form.”

Gift Of The Heart was bred and sold by Yarradale Stud for $60,000 at the 2021 Perth Magic Millions and Yarradale donated half the proceeds to the Janine Chalwell Grant.  He’s by former Yarradale sire Bradbury’s Luck (Redoute’s Choice) and is a half-brother to the War Chant (USA) winners Blazing Passion, Passion For War and Power And Passion.

Their dam Passion Cantata won a half-dozen sprints at Belmont and Ascot for trainer Paul Jordan and her younger half-sister Sanabreanna (Red Hot Choice) won the LR Sir Ernest Lee-Steere Classic (1400m) at Ascot in 2019. 

“Gift Of The Heart is fit and well and pulled up a treat,” Rogers added on Friday morning.  “He needed the run and if he continues to improve as expected, I don’t see why we won’t give him another crack at the Bluff Knoll.”  The $400,000 Bluff Knoll (1099m) is scheduled for Sunday, March 8 at Albany’s Frost Park.

Gift Of The Heart with Yarradale owners Lyn and Ron Sayers with Chris and Erin Chalwell at the         2021 Perth Magic Millions / Photo: Western Racepix