Rising star Pencarrow mare Les Crayeres (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice) collected her fifth win from just 10 career starts with a stellar performance in Monday’s $40,000 Waikato Stud 1500 at Te Rapa.

Trained by Ken and Bev Kelso, Les Crayeres showed real promise last season with four wins from eight starts in the first campaign of her racing career. The five-year-old returned to action at Te Rapa at the beginning of this month, finishing less than 1.5 lengths from the winner in seventh place despite striking bad luck in multiple stages of the race.

It was a different story on Monday as jockey Danielle Johnson had Les Crayeres in clear air in fourth, then charged forward to challenge Tightlign (NZ) (Align) at the top of the straight. She soon gained the upper hand and went clear, later resisting the bid of Hezthewonforus (NZ) (Sufficient) to win by half a length. The rest of the field finished almost three lengths behind the first pair.

Les Crayeres has now had 10 starts for five wins, a second, a third and a fourth, earning $71,956 in stakes with the promise of much more to come. She was bred by Pencarrow and is raced by Sir Peter Vela.

By champion sire Redoute’s Choice, Les Crayeres is out of Our Echezeaux (NZ) (Zabeel) and comes from one of Pencarrow’s finest families.

The dam of six winners from six foals to race, Our Echezeaux has produced stakes winners Dolmabache (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice), Pure Elegance (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice) and Cote D’Or (NZ) (Makfi).

Our Echezeaux is also a full-sister to the outstanding Grand Echezeaux (NZ) (Zabeel), who won the Group One Australasian Oaks (2000m) and is the dam of multiple Group One winner and top sire Darci Brahma (NZ) (Danehill), as well as multiple stakes winner and successful sire Burgundy (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice).

Our Echezeaux is also a three-quarter-sister to Romanee Conti (NZ) (Sir Tristram), who was a high-class racehorse in her own right but is most famous as the dam of the champion Ethereal (NZ) (Rhythm).