Pencarrow celebrated another Group success in England over the weekend with Maarek winning the prestigious £140,000 Group 2 Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot on Sunday morning.

The victory has capped off a top season for the five-year-old son of Pivotal (ex Ruby Rocket) who claimed two Group 3 races coming into Sunday’s Group 2, the Chipchase Stakes (1200m) in late June and the Renaissance Stakes (1200m) in mid-September where he beat Starspangledbanner.

Sunday morning’s British Champions Sprint Stakes saw Maarek ridden towards the back of the field on the stand side of the Ascot straight with jockey Jamie Spencer aboard and the pair raced to the front in the final 100 metres to claim a thrilling half-length victory for his trainer David Peter Nagle.

“He's been busy and very, very consistent all season,” commented jockey Jamie Spencer. “He loves soft ground and I got a good lead into the race following The Cheka, everything worked out perfectly.”

“He has been superbly trained and I am very pleased to be riding him. I have had two rides on him for two wins now so hopefully I can keep that strike rate going.”

Bred by Peter and Philip Vela and New England Stud, The five-year-old is by Chevely Park’s leading sire Pivotal, the sire of 98 stakes winners, and is out of the dual stakes winning Indian Rocket mare Ruby Rocket.