Speedy Pencarrow mare Sleeping Beauty (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle) continued her outstanding spring form with an all-the-way win in the $35,000 Chesters Plumbing & Bathroom 1300 at Tauranga on Saturday.

The six-year-old had scored an impressive front-running victory in Rating 82 grade at Matamata last month, and on Saturday she stepped up to open grade and delivered an even more impressive performance.

With Darren Danis in the saddle, she led all the way and scored by two and a half lengths from the Group 1 winner Embellish (NZ) (Savabeel).

“She’s quite incredible – she has had a long winter campaign, but she’s coming up like a spring horse,” said Andrew Scott, who trains Sleeping Beauty in partnership with Lance O’Sullivan.

“At her last race she ran 1:12 (for 1200 metres) which was a personal best, and again today she has run a wee bit of time.

“She has really turned in the coat and is carrying good condition. She is quickening on top of the ground and showed a good turn of foot.

“We had been waiting to put her aside when she ran a bad one, but she just keeps getting better.”

Sleeping Beauty has now won eight of her 17 starts, placing in another four and earning $131,125 in prizemoney for owner-breeder Sir Peter Vela. Earlier this year, she collected black type with a second placing in the Listed Opunake Cup (1400m).

Sleeping Beauty is out of the three-time winning Danehill mare Kailey Princess (NZ). That mare has produced eight winners from 10 foals to race including the stakes placegetters Prosperous Bid (NZ) (Carnegie) and Canny Princess (NZ) (Canny Lad).

Another of Kailey Princess’s foals, Sea Island (NZ) (Woodman) is the dam of the Group 1 Metropolitan Handicap winner Herculian Prince (NZ) (Yamanin Vital).