Podravina (NZ) (Bel Esprit) delivered a stylish performance to win the $50,000 Go Racing Syndications 1500 on New Zealand Derby day at Ellerslie on Saturday.

The talented Pencarrow mare was stepping down to Rating 82 grade after a fast-finishing third in the Listed Wairarapa Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) at her previous start.

The four-year-old sat in a handy position before running down the front-runner The Mitigator (Master of Design) and winning by three-quarters of a length.

Podravina has now had 15 starts for five wins, five placings and $93,160 in stakes.

Bred by Pencarrow Thoroughbreds Ltd and raced by Sir Peter Vela, Podravina is the first foal to race out of Posavina (NZ) (Tiger Hill), who carried the Pencarrow blue and white hoops to victory in the Group 3 Lowland Stakes (2100m) in 2010.

Posavina is a half-sister to another former Pencarrow star, Rasa Lila (NZ) (Darci Brahma), who won seven races including the Group 2 Travis Stakes (2000m) and Group 3 Cuddle Stakes (1600m). She also placed in the Group 1 Easter Handicap (1600m) and Windsor Park Plate (1600m).