The Cliff Grice Nostalgia 1600 saw a good performance from Pencarrow’s Via Veneto to win the fourth on the card at Te Rapa on Saturday.

Ridden well by jockey James McDonald, the Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie trained Via Veneto (Cape Cross x Shopping Spree) settled close to the speed one off the rails in transit. Keeping within striking distance of the race leader Glendoveer (Black Minnaloushe), Via Veneto left her run late but made up good ground to win by a neck at the post.

Via Veneto has been racing well over her last three starts with placings in the Craig’s Investment Partners 1400 and the Premiercare Insurance Charity 1400 before Saturday’s race. It was her second win from 13 starts and took her stakes earnings to over $22,000.

Via Veneto is from the Sadler’s Wells mare Shopping Spree, the dam of two foals to race for two winners. Her second dam Appreciatively is a sister to the dual Group 1 winner Zoman (Affirmed) and a half-sister to the stakes winner Love and Affection (Exclusive Era), the dam of Group 3 winner Yellowstone (Rock of Gibraltar).

Pencarrow also saw one of their blue-bloods Ebullient (Stravinsky x Ethereal) make his anticipated course debut. Trained by Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie, the four-year-old showed a good turn of foot in the straight to take second place in the Coca Cola 1200. A winner of his two trials, the son of Ethereal would have taken a lot from the race and will be one to follow over the summer.

Ebullient’s dam is of course the champion New Zealand mare Ethereal, winner of the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups during her stellar racing career which netted a total of four Group 1 races. Ebullient’s full brother was bought by David Ellis in the 2007 Karaka Premier Sale for $1.3 million.

Ethereal has a yearling filly by Encosta de Lago and has been covered by Encosta de Lago this season.