Pencarrow bred and sold three-year-old Bass Strait looks destined for greater things after a smart win yesterday at Sandown in Australia in the A$35,000 Sporting Bet 3YO (1600m).

Trained by David Hayes, Bass Strait (Holy Roman Emperor x Crystalline, by Zabeel) won fresh up at his first start as a three-year-old at his last appearance in Seymour in late December and made it two from two for the season yesterday.

Ridden by jockey Chad Schofield, Bass Strait raced mid-field and came from well off the pace to produce a powerful finish to win by half-a-length in the fashion of a horse very much on the up.

The son of Holy Roman Emperor had two starts as a two-year-old, finishing third on debut, and his time away from the races seems to have worked for the horse with Bruno Rouge-Serret, a stable foreman for trainer David Hayes, commenting after the race that he is now a far more relaxed horse.

Rouge-Serret also commented that the Hayes team have a high opinion of Bass Strait and that the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas is on the horse’s radar.

Bred by Peter and Philip Vela in conjunction with Champion Singapore trainer Laurie Laxon, Bass Strait was purchased by BBA-Ireland from Pencarrow Stud at New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2011 Karaka Premier Sale for $220,000.

The three-year-old is raced by Peter and Philip Vela in conjunction with Mr P Barnett, R & C Legh Racing Pty Ltd, Gurners Bloodstock Co and Mrs Y Nicoll.

Bass Strait is from the Zabeel mare Crystalline and is a half-brother to the Pencarrow bred Traded (Galileo) who has also won two races in Australia thus far. Crystalline is a daughter of the Pencarrow bred and raced Clear Rose (Deputy Governor) who was trained by Laurie Laxon and won the Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas.

Crystalline was served by Dylan Thomas during the 2012 season.