Classy Pencarrow mare Sleeping Beauty (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle) returned to top form with victory in the $30,000 Aongatete Coolstores Limited Premier (1200m) at Tauranga on Saturday.

Trained at Matamata by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, Sleeping Beauty won four races in a row between July and October last year. She struck unsuitable track conditions in the first two starts of her current preparation, but on Saturday she excelled.

Apprentice jockey Taiki Yanagida slid Sleeping Beauty forward to sit outside the early leader, then asked her to quicken in the straight and she quickly took control. The five-year-old cruised to victory by three-quarters of a length.

Sleeping Beauty has now had 13 starts for six wins, three placings and $77,500 in prizemoney.

Bred and raced by Sir Peter Vela, 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).