Pencarrow graduate Mehzebeen (NZ) (Almanzor) has completed Riccarton’s big staying double, adding Saturday’s $400,000 Group Three Martin Collins 161^st New Zealand Cup (3200m) to her victory in the Listed Metropolitan Trophy (2600m) seven days earlier.

Mehzebeen was bred by Pencarrow Thoroughbreds Ltd and offered in Pencarrow Stud’s Book 1 draft at Karaka 2021, where she was bought by Sarai Stud for $50,000. She has now had 19 starts for five wins, three placings and $474,010 in stakes.

Placed in the Group One New Zealand Oaks (2400m) as a three-year-old, Mehzebeen struck plenty of bad luck through the following 18 months and failed to add any further black-type to her CV until the Metropolitan Trophy. But that performance was a turning point in the five-year-old’s career, and she backed up a week later with something even more special.

Ridden by Craig Grylls, Mehzebeen settled in fourth before flexing her staying muscles in the home straight. She pulled away and showed her class, romping home by three lengths.

“That was a big performance,” Grylls said. “The plan was to get a bit of cover, and we managed to do that quite quickly. She just travelled so well throughout. Coming up to the turn, I thought that all she would have to do to get them all off the bridle would be to just quicken up a little bit, and she did. She won easily in the end.”

Mehzebeen is trained by Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson.

“This is a massive thrill,” Bergerson said. “It’s one of the iconic races in New Zealand racing, so it means a lot to have our names on the trophy.

“Thanks to all of our team, both at Matamata and down here. The start of her prep didn’t quite go to plan, but she’s just improved, improved and improved.

“That win last week gave us the confidence to press on into today. She’s absolutely thrived and bounced through the run on the first day, and then she came out and was really strong through the line.

“There are plenty of nice Cup races coming up, both here and in Australia. The further, the better is what we’ve always believed with her. She’s just taken a bit of time and hasn’t always had the rub of the green.

“She was sourced at Karaka by Danny Rolston, who’s obviously a fantastic judge. He bought her for some keen owners and small-time breeders. They’ll all be over the moon with this result.

“It’s been quite a ride with her, a lot of ups and downs, but days like today make it all worthwhile.”

One of 23 individual stakes winners for Cambridge Stud stallion Almanzor, Mehzebeen is a daughter of the Zabeel mare Salkantay (NZ).

Herself a placegetter on the track, Salkantay is the dam of two winners from four foals to race. Both of those two winners have been stakes performers, with Mehzebeen backed up by the Listed Ellerslie Salver (2100m) placegetter Smiling Touch (NZ) (O’Reilly).

Salkantay is a half-sister to the stakes winners Te Akau Coup (NZ) (Thorn Park) and Don Garcia (NZ) (Danehill). Another half-sister, Navy Beach (NZ) (Darci Brahma), is the dam of the stakes-placed Wolfgang (NZ) (Puccini) and Naval Fleet (NZ) (Declaration Of War).

Since Mehzebeen’s birth in 2019, Salkantay has produced the placegetter Lovely Friends (NZ) (Almanzor) along with colts by Eminent and Vadamos.