Up-and-comer Unequivocal (NZ) (Eminent) took another step forward in her promising staying career with victory in Wednesday’s $30,000 Wairarapa Music in the Country 10^th to 30^th Jan 2025 (2200m) at Tauherenikau.

Wednesday’s race provided a second career victory for Unequivocal, who had previously capped an ever-improving run of autumn form with an easy maiden win over 2000 metres on the Cambridge synthetic track in June.

The Pencarrow homebred had shown encouraging signs in the first two races of her four-year-old season as well, finishing strongly over 1600 metres for a third and a sixth at Ellerslie and Pukekohe respectively. The step up to 2200 metres on Wednesday looked ideal, and so it proved.

Unequivocal was patiently ridden by Leah Hemi, settling well back in a field that became widely strung out heading down the back straight. Then Hemi began to build up Unequivocal’s momentum, and she sustained a long run around the outside of the field to swoop into contention at the turn.

Unequivocal loomed ominously in the middle of the track at the top of the home straight, and she quickened again in the final 200 metres to power away and win by three and a half lengths.

The Andrew Forsman-trained Unequivocal has now had 10 starts for two wins, three placings and $40,830 in stakes. She could now have much bigger and better things in store, holding nominations for the $125,000 Dunstan Horsefeeds Stayers’ Championship Final (2400m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, the $250,000 Group Three Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2400m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day and the $400,000 Group Three Wellington Cup (3200m) at Trentham on January 18.

Unequivocal was bred by Pencarrow Thoroughbreds Ltd and is raced by Sir Peter Vela, whose famous blue and white hooped colours were also worn by the winner’s sire Eminent.

Sir Peter Vela raced Eminent throughout a 14-start career that began in the United Kingdom with a victory at Newmarket as a two-year-old. He added the Group Three Prix Guillaume d’Ornano (2000m) at Deauville and Newmarket’s Group Three Craven Stakes (1600m) as a three-year-old, along with a third in the Group One Irish Champion Stakes (2000m) and a fourth in the Group One Epsom Derby (2400m).

An Irish-bred son of the legendary racehorse and superb sire Frankel, Eminent later travelled to Australia, where he ran second behind Avilius (Pivotal) in the Group One Ranvet Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill. Now he has made a promising start at stud, with 17 individual winners including this season’s Group Three placegetter Toruk Makto (NZ).

Unequivocal is the first foal out of Philosophical (NZ) (Darci Brahma), who herself was a winner in the Pencarrow colours at Otaki in 2019.

Philosophical is a daughter of the stakes-winning Pencarrow mare Mirandola (NZ) (O’Reilly), whose dam Paolino (NZ) (Housebuster) won five times up to Group Two level and is a half-sister to the multiple Group winner and successful producer Sarwatch (NZ) (Jetball).

Philosophical’s second foal is an unnamed two-year-old filly by Tarzino (NZ), and she later returned to Eminent and produced a filly born in the spring of 2022.