Up-and-comer Unequivocal (NZ) (Eminent) took another step forward in her promising staying career with victory in Wednesday’s $30,000 Wairarapa Music in the Country 10th to 30th Jan 2025 (2200m) at Tauherenikau.
The Andrew Forsman-trained Unequivocal has now had 10 starts for two wins, three placings and $40,830 in stakes.
As always, the only opportunity for buyers to access this season’s crop of yearlings from internationally respected nursery Pencarrow Stud will be at the Karaka Sales Centre, where another quality draft of 26 yearlings is catalogued for Book 1 of Karaka 2025.
Pencarrow will present an exclusive and high-quality offering of 16 colts and 10 fillies during the three-day sale, which runs from Sunday January 26 to Tuesday January 28 in the Sir Patrick Hogan Auditorium.
There is plenty of potential among this season’s crop of three-year-old fillies in the Pencarrow racing team, and Fosse (NZ) (Darci Brahma) added her name to that list at Rotorua on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s $25,000 Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series (1560m) was the second start for Fosse, who had made her debut with a third placing over 1600 metres at Te Rapa on November 9. The Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie-trained filly carried on to Rotorua and took a big step forward at start number two.
Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie will bid to continue their hot run of form since moving their operation to a new property with another trip to the Central Districts this week.
The Waikato couple have their eyes on a black-type goal for their promising filly Island Life at Otaki on Thursday with the Gr.3 Elsdon Park Wellington Stakes (1600m) viewed as an ideal opportunity for the daughter of Vadamos.
Lightly raced Pencarrow prospect Starry Eyed (NZ) (Darci Brahma) capped an improving form line with a dominant victory in Tuesday’s $18,500 Van Dyks (1560m) at Rotorua.
Starry Eyed is trained by Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie and has now earned $12,395 from her three-start, one-win career. She was bred by Pencarrow Thoroughbreds Ltd and is raced by Sir Peter Vela.
Riccarton Park has become a happy hunting ground for graduates of Cambridge thoroughbred nursery Pencarrow Stud, which was further enhanced last week through the deeds of Mehzebeen.
“It was a real thrill to win a race like the New Zealand Cup, which is still one of the iconic races on the calendar,” Pencarrow Stud Manager Leon Casey said.
Pencarrow graduate Mehzebeen (NZ) (Almanzor) has completed Riccarton’s big staying double, adding Saturday’s $400,000 Group Three Martin Collins 161st New Zealand Cup (3200m) to her victory in the Listed Metropolitan Trophy (2600m) seven days earlier.
Mehzebeen was bred by Pencarrow Thoroughbreds Ltd and offered in Pencarrow Stud’s Book 1 draft at Karaka 2021, where she was bought by Sarai Stud for $50,000. She has now had 19 starts for five wins, three placings and $474,010 in stakes.
The Pencarrow Racing colours were carried to a third win this week when Sesimbra (NZ) (U S Navy Flag) cleared maiden ranks in Wednesday’s $18,500 Peninsular Beachfront Resort Mooloolaba (1200m) at New Plymouth.
Sesimbra was ridden by apprentice jockey Ace Lawson-Carroll at New Plymouth and settled in third along the rail before pushing forward to challenge the leader before the home turn.
A dominant performance by Tempest (NZ) (Frankel) at Ashburton on Sunday capped an outstanding weekend for Pencarrow principal Sir Peter Vela.
Those same blue and white hooped colours were also carried to victory by Island Life (NZ) (Vadamos) at Tauranga on Saturday. From 14 career starts, Tempest has now had a win and eight placings. She has earned $37,515 for owner-breeders Sir Peter Vela and Coolmore.
For the second time since 2021, Pencarrow principal Sir Peter Vela has shared in a scintillating victory in the stallion-making A$2m Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington.
Valuable colt Switzerland (Snitzel) produced a stunning performance in the three-year-old sprint on Saturday, three years after Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) cemented his stallion credentials with a three-length win in the same race. Home Affairs now stands at Coolmore Stud for a service fee of A$82,500.
The blue and white colours of Pencarrow Racing are likely to be seen in feature three-year-old company this summer after an impressive audition by Island Life (NZ) (Vadamos) at Tauranga on Saturday.
Island Life went into the $25,000 Saddlery Warehouse Cambridge & Tauranga Maiden (1600m) with only one previous start under her belt, where she stormed home to finish second over 1400 metres at Pukekohe on October 16.
Lightly raced Pencarrow mare Golden (NZ) (Eminent) took a big step forward in her promising career with victory in Thursday’s $18,500 NEMS Medical (2000m) on the Cambridge synthetic track.
Trained by Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie, Golden has now had five starts for a win, a second, a third and a fourth, earning $18,530 in stakes.
Pencarrow graduate Jay Bee Gee (NZ) (Complacent) completed a Group Three double within the first two months of the new season when he ran his rivals into the ground in Saturday’s $100,000 Hunterville Vet Club Metric Mile (1600m) at Wanganui.
Jay Bee Gee is out of Pencarrow’s remarkable mare Huluava (NZ) (Pins), who is the dam of nine winners from nine foals to race.
An impressive performance by Private Life (Written Tycoon) at Warwick Farm on Wednesday has put the classy colt on a path towards bigger and better spring targets for part-owner Sir Peter Vela.
The Chris Waller-trained Private Life made a big impression at the trials as an autumn two-year-old and was sent out as favourite for his raceday debut on May 1, finishing fourth at Canterbury. He took a big step forward and cleared maiden ranks in style in his second start three weeks later at Warwick Farm.
A more mature Private Life stepped out for his three-year-old debut on Wednesday and made it a winning one, despite carrying a testing topweight of 61.5 kilograms.
Quality mare Pearl Of Alsace is back on track to open her spring campaign ahead of a later than originally anticipated involvement in the Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival.
Tavistock’s daughter will resume on Saturday in the Harcourts Bream Bay (1400m) at Ruakaka where stablemate and Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) hopeful Mahrajaan will also be in action in the Harcourts Tai Tokerau Cup (2200m).
The Sir Peter Vela-bred and raced Pearl Of Alsace failed to trial to the satisfaction of trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray at Taupo last month, but they have been encouraged by her subsequent progress.
Pencarrow Stud’s foundation mare, Romanee Conti (Sir Tristram-Richebourg, by Vice Regal), was immortalised with a sculpture created by New Zealand artist Michelle Farrell. The story of Romanee Conti begins in 1982 when the Vela brothers went to the Wrightson Bloodstock yearling sale and purchased a yearling filly from Chequers Stud. Full story as featured in Bluebloods, August 2024
Pencarrow’s broodmare marvel Huluava (NZ) (Pins) was credited with her third winner within the space of just six days when Branciforti (NZ) (Belardo) took out the inaugural $100,000 Martin Collins PolyTrack Innovation Race (1400m) at Awapuni on Friday.
“It’s a really, really under-rated family and it just keeps on keeping on,” Pencarrow manager Leon Casey commented this week. “Huluava was very lightly raced and talented, we did take her to Brisbane as a three-year-old but she pulled up sore.
Just over half an hour after Pencarrow graduate Jay Bee Gee (NZ) (Complacent) won the Group Three Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton, his half-sister Harmonious (NZ) (Turn Me Loose) capped the stud’s extraordinary start to the new season with her runaway victory in the $35,000 Group 1 Raceday 14 September Rating 65 (1600m).
Harmonious is still owned by Sir Peter Vela and is trained by Adrian Bull. The six-year-old collected the second win of her 13-start career on Saturday and lifted her earnings to $49,495.
The 2024-25 New Zealand racing season began on a perfect note for Pencarrow Stud on Saturday with Jay Bee Gee (NZ) (Complacent) winning the first black-type race on the calendar – the $110,000 Group Three Winning Edge Presentations 127th Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton.
Jay Bee Gee was bred by Pencarrow Thoroughbreds Ltd and was offered by Bradbury Park in Book 2 of Karaka 2019. He was bought for $26,000 by Harry Bull, who shares ownership with his father Adrian and late mother Robyn.
Bought through the Karaka sale ring and part-owned by Pencarrow principal Sir Peter Vela, classy two-year-old Public Attention (NZ) (Written Tycoon) kicked off his career on a perfect note in Saturday’s A$150,000 MRC Chairman’s Club Handicap (1200m) at Caulfield.
Public Attention was bred by Sir Peter Vela’s close friend, the late Sir Patrick Hogan, in partnership with wife Lady Hogan. Offered by Carlaw Park in Book 1 of Karaka 2023, he was bought by Coolmore’s Tom Magnier for $160,000.
A few days out from the official start of the new season on August 1, the busy foaling period at Pencarrow Stud sprung to life over the weekend with the arrival of the season’s first foal.
The colt was born at 1.11am on Sunday morning. He is by Ardrossan and is the first foal out of Ginsburg (NZ) (Iffraaj). The colt was bred by Pencarrow principal Sir Peter Vela in partnership with Dame Lowell Goddard. That pair also co-bred and share ownership of Ginsburg.
A runaway victory in Sunday’s Listed Prix la Sorellina – Chateau de Portets (1600m) at La Teste de Buch in France saw classy filly Pemba Bay (Blue Point) become the latest stakes winner bred by Pencarrow Stud.
Bred by Pencarrow in partnership with owners Haras D’Etreham, the three-year-old has had nine starts for two wins, four placings and prize-money of 95,397 euros.
A maiden winner at Le Mans in May, Pemba Bay stepped up to stakes level on Sunday and scored an emphatic win.
Talented Pencarrow mare Branciforti (NZ) (Belardo) added to her strong record on the Cambridge synthetic track with another emphatic victory in Wednesday’s $27,000 D & A Diesel (1300m).
The four-year-old mare has now had a total of 13 starts for four wins, a second and $60,475 in stakes. Three of those wins have come from only seven appearances on the all-weather surface at Cambridge.
An exciting opportunity has become available to join the Pencarrow Stud team in the role of Farm Manager at their Bellwood Farm property.
The unique farm is situated 15 minutes from Matamata, and 20 minutes from Cambridge. The property encompasses 100 hectares of rolling hill country, making it the perfect location for Pencarrow’s young stock to grow and develop throughout the spring and summer before heading to the trainers in autumn. It is also used to winter mares and occasional spelling for some of the racing team.
The successful applicant will have a wide range of experience in the horse industry and exhibit strong attention to detail.
Some general farming knowledge will be an advantage.