Exciting galloper Forever Loved (NZ) made a winning debut at Canterbury on Wednesday and looks to have a very bright future.

The Gai Waterhouse trained filly made the contest her own after the late scratchings of well fancied Happy Meteor and Castigate following a barrier mishap.

Forever Loved (3f High Chaparral – Diamond Like by Danehill) jumped smartly for Tommy Berry and then switched off heels at the top of the straight to stride away and win the TAB Rewards Maiden Hcp (1100m) by more than two lengths.

“She’s always shown us a lot of ability and had been working well with Whittington,” Berry said.  “There is a lot of upside with her.  She put them away so quickly and was stargazing a bit at the finish.”

Forever Loved was a $650,000 NZB Karaka yearling sale purchase for Gai Waterhouse and James Harron Bloodstock from Cambridge Stud.  She runs for Greg and Donna Kolivos, who enjoyed much success with their champion colt Pierro, now retired and set to serve his first book of mares at Coolmore Stud this spring.

Forever Loved is a half-sister to stakes-placed Miss Zenella and Ardeche.  Their stakes-winning Danehill dam Diamond Like comes from the Diamond Lover branch of the famed Eight Carat family.  With that gold-plated pedigree, it’s not hard to see why Forever Loved was the most expensive filly by her sire High Chaparral sold in 2012.

High Chaparral stands at Coolmore Stud for a fee of $77,000 (inc gst) alongside his champion son So You Think (NZ) who is priced at $66,000.