RUGBY league star Hugo Savala did not get onto the field for his team's grand final win on Sunday but the versatile half, five-eighth and centre played a big part in the Roosters 2026 success and will have a runner in Saturday night's Young Star heats at Wentworth Park.
Hugo Savala's nickname is "Fluffy" and the family's greyhound, Chronic Fluffy, clocked a vastly improved 29.89 in notching his first Wentworth Park win last Thursday night for trainer Dale Wright.
After the race Wright declared that Chronic Fluffy, raced by a small syndicate headed by Hugo's father, Sydney bookmaker Scott Savala, would now tackle the heats of the Young Star.
The final of the race, worth $30,000 to the winner, will be held on Friday, October 16, the night of the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase.
Dale Wright said he was not surprised that Chronic Fluffy had been able to slash his personal best Wenty figures of 30.24 down to 29.89 last Thursday.
"He has always had the ability but he has only just begun to put it all together,'' Wright said.
"My involvement with Scott and Hugo Savala began when I was asked, to pre-train Chronic Billie, the dam of Chronic Fluffy.
"At her first look at The Gardens, in a 272m trial, Chronic Billie recorded 15.70, time good enough to win most races there.
"She could always post very smart first sectional times but was not very strong at the finish.
"Still, she managed to win 10 races for us and when mated to Shima Shine she has produced Chronic Fluffy.
"He had box eight last week and although his only previous win was from box four, it looks as though he might be best suited from an outside alley.
"Chronic Fluffy accelerated around his rivals on Thursday and seemed to like that bit of room, being able to zip around the outside of his opponents.''
Chronic Fluffy's time last Thursday would have been good enough to win three of the seven Young Star finals held at Wentworth Park since the event was launched in 2018.
Zipper On Time set a new race record of 29.62 in taking out the 2025 final while Minnie Finn's Zipping Orlando recorded 29.65 in 2022 and a year later Peter Lagogiane's Rocket Riot clocked 29.64.
Interestingly though, Susan Smith's My Pharaoh took 29.96 to win the 2024 final and has gone on to win 18 races and over $142,000.
Early favourite for the 2026 Young Star series is Exorbitant, who notched his 10th win in 15 starts in a fast 29.53 at Wentworth Park last Saturday, taking his tally there to three wins from four appearances.
Exorbitant is owned, trained and was bred by Natina Howard, and following his second 29.53 Wentworth Park performance on Saturday, the Young Star series was nominated as his mission.
Howard's husband, Robert Howard, said: "We had a fast dog called Clock Off who was eligible for the 2022 Young Star after winning eight of his first dozen starts."
"But I got carried away and put him in the Million Dollar Chase series and while he finished third to Good Odds Cash in his semi-final, I have always regretted not saving Clock Off for the Young Star.''
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