Pencarrow Stud has achieved international fame as a nursery of outstanding thoroughbred talent, but the blue and white hooped colours of Pencarrow’s racing team have also earned a stellar reputation.
Pencarrow Thoroughbreds operates an extensive racing team of homebred horses. From a dream combination of top-quality pedigrees and a first-class education at an exclusive training facility at Maungatautari, Pencarrow’s racehorses have consistently delivered exceptional results – providing the foundation for five New Zealand Owner of the Year awards for Sir Peter Vela.
There has been a long line of big-race victories in New Zealand, Australia and even further afield, and Pencarrow horses have played a key role in the careers of trainers such as Laurie Laxon, Mark Walker, Sheila Laxon, Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie, and the current premiership-topper Jamie Richards.
Pencarrow’s outstanding roll of honour is headed by the great Ethereal (NZ) (Rhythm), who earned more than A$4.7 million with four Group 1 victories including the Caulfield Cup (2400m) and Melbourne Cup (3200m) in 2001. In the almost 20 years since then, no other horse has completed that famous spring double.
Her dam, Romanee Conti (NZ) (Sir Tristram), won the Hong Kong Cup (1800m) along with four stakes wins in New Zealand and Australia.
Other Group 1 winners in the Pencarrow colours include Noble Heights (NZ) (Sir Tristram), Riverina Charm (NZ) (Sir Tristram), Clear Rose (NZ) (Deputy Governor), Grand Echezeaux (NZ) (Zabeel), Insouciant (NZ) (Keeper) and Guiseppina (NZ) (Johar).
The current headline acts are Supera (NZ) (Savabeel), who has won the Group 2 Tauranga Stakes (1600m) and Group 2 Travis Stakes (2000m) and placed in the Group 1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m), and the up-and-comer Lilikoi (NZ) (Charm Spirit), who won this season’s Group 3 Eulogy Stakes (1600m) and placed in the Group 2 Royal Stakes (2000m).
These have all been outstanding results for fillies and mares bred by Pencarrow and retained to race in the blue and white colours. However, that does not mean that the cream of Pencarrow’s filly crop are never made available to prospective buyers.
Many budding star fillies and mares have been sold through Pencarrow drafts, including the top-class racetrack performers Hoeberg (NZ) (Maroof), Eleonora (NZ) (Makfi) and Arrabeea (NZ) (Zabeel).
Buyers will again have access to these sensational dam lines in Pencarrow’s draft at Karaka 2020.
- Lot 43 is out of Lafleur (NZ) (Zabeel), who carried Pencarrow colours to Group 2 victories in the Group 2 Royal Stakes (2000m) and Sir Tristram Fillies’ Classic (2000m). She has already been the dam of Pencarrow Racing’s stakes-winning mares Amaryllis (NZ) (Red Ransom) and Papilio (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice).
- Lot 162 is out of Papilio.
- Lot 189 is out of Posavina (NZ) (Tiger Hill), who won the Group 3 Lowland Stakes (2100m) for Pencarrow. She is the dam of stakes-placed Pencarrow mare Podravina (NZ) (Bel Esprit).
- Lot 212 is a daughter of Pencarrow’s Group 2 Travis Stakes (2000m) winner Rasa Lila (NZ) (Darci Brahma), who is a half-sister to Posavina.
- Lot 285 is a daughter of another Pencarrow stakes winner, Silver Eclipse (NZ) (Darci Brahma), who won the Listed Pegasus Stakes (1000m) in fast time.
- Lot 294 is out of Sopraffina (NZ) (High Chaparral), a half-sister to Supera and Eleonora.
- Lot 308 is out of a half-sister to Lafleur.
- Lot 373 is out of the Group 1-placed Uberalles (NZ) (Giant’s Causeway), a daughter of Ethereal and half-sister to the dam of Supera and Eleonora.
- Lot 382 is out of a half-sister to Insouciant.
- Lot 452 is a half-brother to Lilikoi.
- Lot 565 is out of Echezeaux (NZ) (Encosta de Lago), a stakes-placed daughter of Grand Echezeaux, who is also the dam of Group 1 performers and sires Darci Brahma (NZ) (Danehill) and Burgundy (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice).
- Lot 578 is out of a daughter of Insouciant.