Up-and-coming Pencarrow mare Palm Springs (NZ) made an impressive return to action with a smart win in Saturday’s $27,500 SVS Starting Gates 1100 at Te Rapa.

Trained by John Bell, Palm Springs had won three of her nine previous career appearances, but had been off the scene since a third placing at New Plymouth in late December.

Ridden in Saturday’s resuming run by in-form apprentice jockey Joe Kamaruddin, the four-year-old sat in fourth before coming wide around the home turn and setting out after the bold front-runner Packing Noblesse (The Factor).

Palm Springs worked through her gears and started to reel in that rival, taking the lead 50 metres from the finish and kicking clear to win by a length.

From 10 starts, Palm Springs has now picked up four wins and two placings.

Palm Springs is raced by Sir Peter Vela, who bred the filly in partnership with Curraghmore’s Gordon Cunningham. She is by Super Easy (NZ), a successful sire son of the Pencarrow-bred Darci Brahma (NZ). Super Easy is the sire of 75 winners from 139 runners, with six individual stakes winners.

The dam of Palm Springs is homebred Pencarrow mare North of Sunset (NZ) (Red Ransom), who is a half-sister to the stakes winner and Group One-placed Wildflower (NZ) (Keeper). She is also a blood-sister to Group winner and successful broodmare Amaryllis (NZ) (Red Ransom).

The family goes back to Habibti (Habitat), a multiple Group One winner in the UK and Europe who is a half-sister to the legendary broodmare Eight Carat (Pieces of Eight). Habibti herself features in the dam line of numerous Group One winners including the New Zealand-bred and owned multiple Cox Plate (2040m) placegetter Humidor (NZ) (Teofilo).

Palm Springs was the first foal out of North of Sunset, who has subsequently produced a colt by Tivaci and then had a colt by Pencarrow’s Group One performer Eminent last spring.