Pencarrow Stud has had another stellar racing season recording 48 winners in New Zealand, Australia and England.

“We had a full range this season with a big number of winners, a couple of good black-type winners and we even had a winner over jumps this season,” commented Pencarrow Stud Manager Leon Casey.

The season was highlighted by two stakes victories in New Zealand.

“The Avondale Guineas with Valbuena and the Gold Trail Stakes with Pure Elegance were definitely season highlights,” said Casey.

A star performer in New Zealand, Valbuena (Darci Brahma) won the Group 2 Avondale Guineas (2100m). Trained by Bruce Wallace, Valbuena is a Pencarrow Stud homebred by the Pencarrow-bred sire Darci Brahma with his dam, Vega Sicilia (Rodrigo de Triano), a Group 1 placegetter also carrying the Pencarrow silks.

Pencarrow’s resident trainers Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie trained 24 of this season’s winners including stakes winner Pure Elegance.

“We had an up and down season, Pure Elegance won the Gold Trail Stakes beating some really good horses and we came close to a few big wins with Guisepinna and Dolmabache but things just didn’t go our way in those races,” commented Ramsay. “We still had 24 winners for the season, one short of our best total.”

Pure Elegance (Redoute’s Choice) was the smart winner of the Group 3 Hawke’s Bay Breeders Gold Trail Stakes (1400m). She went into the race having won at her only race day appearance and beat a high quality field of three-year-old fillies.

Pure Elegance is from the family of the great Pencarrow Stud foundation mare Richebourg (Vice Regal) being out of Our Echezeaux (Zabeel), a full-sister to Group 1 Australasian Oaks winner Grand Echezeaux, dam of Darci Brahma.

Dolmabache, a full-sister to Pure Elegance, was stakes placed during the season. She was last season’s Group 2 Travis Stakes (1600m) winner and raced in the highest quality fields this season racking up three black-type placings including a second in the Group 1 Darci Brahma International Stakes (2000m).

Last season’s Group 1 Telegraph Handicap (1200m) winner Guiseppina (Johar) came within half-a-length of adding a second Group 1 to her tally when runner up in the Group 1 Spring Classic (2040m) this season. Her dam, Battocchi (Success Express), was a dual Listed winner in Australia and has also produced the black-type performer Micken (Darci Brahma), a winner in Australia this season.

The 2012/13 season brought Pencarrow a raft of successes including the colours of Peter and Philip Vela being carried to victory over the fences by Mahanadi (Tiger Hill x Bargibant), winning twice over hurdles under the tutelage of jumps maestro Kevin Myers.

A season highlight was achieved abroad with the Peter and Philip Vela owned Maarek winning the Group 2 Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes (1200m) in England. Bred by Peter and Philip Vela in association with New England Stud, the son of Pivotal also won the Group 3 Renaissance Stakes (1200m) in September of 2012 when he bet Starspangledbanner.

In Australia, the three-year-old Bass Strait (Holy Roman Emperor) raced with distinction competing in the best three-year-old races in the autumn including the Australian Guineas and the AJC Derby. Raced by Peter and Philip Vela in conjunction with Mr P C Barnett, R & C Legh Racing Pty Ltd, Gurners Bloodstock Co and Mrs Y Nicoll, Bass Strait won two races in Victoria.

The Pencarrow Stud-bred Burgundy (Redoute’s Choice), a brother to Darci Brahma, was the winner of two Listed races this season and was placed in the Group 1 Telegraph Handicap for Jason Bridgeman. He was sold by Pencarrow Stud as a yearling at Karaka’s National Yearling Sale Series for $1.3 million, purchased by Te Akau Racing’s David Ellis. He will stand his first season at Cambridge Stud this year.

Pencarrow Stud was represented in Macau this season with the Peter and Philip Vela bred Sunshine Kingdom winning the Listed Macau Lisboa Challenge (1400m). His dam, Concert Party (Thunder Gulch), is a granddaughter of Melbourne Cup winner Empire Rose and a half-sister to Group 1 winner Empires Choice.

Pencarrow will be looking to carry their success into the future.

“We have a young team of exciting horses coming through for the new season along with some older campaigners that will be targeting cups races hopefully,” said Ramsay.

With the new season upon us there is a lot to look forward to for the Pencarrow Racing Team.