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Pencarrow hits a hundred in stellar season
Paul Vettise, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk • June 3rd, 2025 11:30 am
Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North)
Pencarrow Stud has celebrated an outstanding achievement with a century of homebred winners for the season.
The Sir Peter Vela-owned nursery hit the three-figure mark on Saturday when promising staying mare Dresse’ Par Joli was successful in the closing event on the Wanganui card.
“It’s pretty good, considering the size we are, and we had some good quality winners in among the tally,” Stud Manager Leon Casey said.
“That includes horses we’ve sold as yearlings and those we have bred and retained to race.
“It doesn’t include the Coolmore Syndicate that we just have a small shareholding in.”
The stand-out result of the 2024/2025 season thus far has been the success of Super Seth’s son Feroce in the Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington.
“That’s a marquee event, the niche in the market if you like is those high quality three-year-old races and that was a Group One event at a major carnival, so it’s got to be the highlight,” Casey said.
Out of the unraced O’Reilly mare Corinthia, he was sold on behalf of the farm by Kilgravin Lodge at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale for $160,000 with trainer Dominic Sutton and McKeever Bloodstock signing the ticket.
“There’s also six new stakes winners in total in the mix as well, and that’s what you live and die by and been really significant for us,” Casey said.
Island Life won the Gr.3 Sunline Vase (2100m), Jay Bee Gee the Gr.3 Merial Mile (1600m) and Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m), Mehzebeen claimed the Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m), Listed Metropolitan Trophy (2600m) and Listed Hawke’s Bay Cup (2200m), Tavi Time landed the Gr.3 Summer Cup (2000m) and Listed Scone Cup (1600m), while Tomodachi won the Gr.3 Rotorua Stakes (1400m).
“We have been having better and better years since we got our farm at Matamata (Bellwood) established,” Casey said.
“We are now preparing and selling yearlings from that farm, the likes of Mehzebeen grew up there and was prepared from there and sold on to her current owners.”
The Allan Sharrock-prepared Dresse’ Par Joli had the honour of providing Pencarrow with its 100th winner of the term and was a $150,000 Karaka purchase for her trainer with McKenzie Bloodstock.
By Tavistock, she is the first foal of Makfi’s daughter Cote D’Or who won on eight occasions, including success in the Listed Matamata Cup (1600m).
“She was a very good mare and won on all types of ground, really high class and she’s got such a great family behind her,” Casey said.
Cote D’Or is a half-sister to the Gr.2 Travis Stakes (2000m) winner and Gr.1 International Stakes (2000m) runner-up Dolmabache with multiple top-flight winners Darci Brahma and Ethereal featuring on the pedigree page.
Pencarrow sold Cote D’Or’s daughter of Hello Youmzain to Cambridge Stud at Karaka 2024 for $300,000 with the unraced juvenile now named Echannay.
“We have retained an Almanzor filly and she has got a Proisir filly as well,” Casey said.
“She wasn’t bred last season, she was getting a bit late, and she’s not confirmed for this year just yet.”
However, Cote D’Or’s three-year-old son Maison Louis immediate future may influence that decision.
A $250,000 Karaka buy for Go Racing, the John O’Shea and Tom Charlton-trained Super Seth gelding has won three of his six starts and will run in take two of this weekend’s Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m).
“He was due to run in the Derby before its postponement so he’ll go this Saturday, and on that basis, Super Seth might be a highly likely mating again,” Casey said.
