It’s been the meeting of champions with one of Australasia’s darlings of the turf producing a stunning colt by one of Australia’s champion sires.

The four-time Group 1 winner of the Queensland Oaks, Caulfield Cup, Melbourne Cup and The BMW, Ethereal (Rhythm x Romanee Conti) has foaled a colt by Encosta de Lago.

Pencarrow Stud Manager Leon Casey is very impressed with the eagerly awaited youngster.

“He’s an outstanding colt. He has a lovely head, is a good size and is all quality. We haven’t weighed him yet but he would be over 60 kilograms so we are very happy.”

Leon has been impressed with the quality of foals Ethereal has thrown since her retirement from the track and is excited with what’s to come.

“She has done a great job with the horses she has left so far. She has a beautiful two-year-old Encosta de Lago filly coming through who has just finished her education, and she has Ebullient (Stravinsky) and Dayess (Stravinsky) who are running well so there is more to come.

“We are currently working through her spring mating plans and we should have a stallion lined up in a week or so.”

A mare that has made a brilliant start to her stud career, she is the dam of five named foals including Uberalles (Giant’s Causeway), her first foal, a race winner who ran third in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby.

Ethereal has also impressed in the sale ring, with her third foal by Stravinsky knocked down for $1.3 million at New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2007 Karaka Premier Sale.

One that skipped the sale ring due to a troublesome preparation, Ebullient races in the famous Pencarrow colours and is trained by Steven Ramsay & Julia Ritchie at Pencarrow Racing’s Maungatautari base. Only lightly raced, Ebullient’s four starts last season saw him notch up two wins and two second placings, and he has shown that he’s on track for the spring with a strong second at the Te Teko trials last week.

Dayess, a four-year-old full-sister to Ebullient, has also had just four starts, with a second and third to her credit so far. She is also in training with Steven Ramsay & Julia Ritchie and is gearing up for a spring campaign.