The famed Pencarrow Stud has produced some of the best horses to come out of New Zealand and the only opportunity to purchase from their prized bloodlines comes at Karaka in Book 1 and this year they will present a draft of 26 yearlings by 18 different stallions representing a mix of the best Aussie and Kiwi based sires including young gun Home Affairs and top class shuttler Too Darn Hot (GB).
A Champion 2YO and 3YO on the track by champion sire Dubawi, Too Darn Hot has made a huge impression in Australia as Champion First Season Sire with his star performer the Champion 2YO Broadsiding and he is the current leader on the second crop sire table by winners, earnings and stakes-winners (6).
There is only one colt by this super successful young sire to be offered at Book 1 and he’s in the Pencarrow draft as Lot 372.
An athletic bay that is typical of what you would expect to see from his sire, he is the first foal of unraced Tavistock mare Tulip, a half-sister to Group III winner Amaryllis and stakes-winner Papilio from Group II winner Lafleur.
His dam sire Tavistock has a burgeoning reputation as a broodmare sire and has had notable success as sire of the dam of eight time Group I winner and $16million earner Mr Brightside.
This female family has been one that has delivered plenty of success for Pencarrow tracing back to Desert Lily (USA), an imported half-sister by Green Desert to legendary blue hen Eight Carat from Group I winner Habibti.
The Desert Lily bloodlines run through three more members of Pencarrow’s Karaka 2025 draft as listed below:
- Lot 181 is a colt by Brutal out of Palacetopian (NZ) (Tavistock), whose dam Papilio won the Listed South Island Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m). Papilio is out of Lafleur, a Group II winning daughter of Desert Lily.
- Lot 408 is one of only two fillies in this sale by Toronado (IRE) out of Wildflower, whose four wins included the Listed Rotorua Challenge Plate (1950m). She also placed in the Group I Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) and Group II Avondale Cup (2400m).
- Lot 617 is a colt by Super Seth out of the two-race winner Floating Heart (NZ) (Encosta de Lago), a daughter of Amaryllis. The winner of the Group III Darley Plate (1200m), Amaryllis is another stakes-winning daughter of Lafleur.
Home Affairs is a sire that lit up the recent Magic Millions Yearling Sale where he produced the record breaking $3.2million filly from Sunlight and was also the leading first season sire by average, so there is tremendous interest in his offspring and Pencarrow Stud will offer two of them, a filly and a colt.
Lot 237 is a Home Affairs filly from Group II winning and multiple Group I placed Darci Brahma mare Rasa Lila, a grand-daughter of US Group I winner Tis Juliet.
Lot 312 is a Home Affairs colt, the fourth foal from Sopraffina, a winning half-sister by High Chaparral (IRE) to Group II winner Supera and Group III winner Eleonora, the dam of juvenile stakes-winner Ethereal Star.
Home Affairs sire I Am Invincible has a great record with daughters of High Chaparral with that nick producing nine winners from 10 runners highlighted by Group I winning filly Media Sensation, stakes-winner Imwonderfultonight and promising three year-olds Daggers, who is already stakes-placed and Qatars Choice.
This cracking colt is from the iconic Richebourg family that has become synonymous with Pencarrow Stud and his third dam is ‘Cups Queen’ Ethereal.
This family remains an active source of black-type success with the latest stakes-winner to emerge being classy two-year-old filly Too Sweet (Satono Aladdin), who won the Group II Eclipse Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day and runs in the Karaka Million. She has Grand Echezeaux as her fourth dam.
Pencarrow’s Karaka 2025 draft features four additional representatives of this revered family:
- Lot 231 is a colt by exciting Cambridge Stud shuttle stallion Hello Youmzain (Fr). The dam of this colt is the three-race winner Quintessentially (NZ) (High Chaparral), a daughter of Group I placed Uberalles (NZ) (Giant’s Causeway), who is out of Romanee Conti’s champion daughter Ethereal.
- Lot 281 is a colt by leading sire Proisir out of the stakes-winning mare Seraphim (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle), another daughter of Ethereal.
- Lot 365 is a filly by Proisir. She is the first foal out of the winning mare Topkapi (NZ) (Tavistock), whose Group I placed dam Dolmabache won the Group II Travis Stakes (2000m) and is a daughter of Our Echezeaux.
- Lot 465 is a colt by All Too Hard out of Dolmabache’s daughter Aveiro (NZ) (O’Reilly). Aveiro was unraced but is the dam of two winners from two foals to race – Archachon (NZ) (Pierro) and Sesimbra (NZ) (U S Navy Flag).
Caulfield Guineas winner Super Seth has made as strong start to his stud career with Group winners in both Australia and New Zealand and has four in the Pencarrow draft including Lot 12, the half-brother to triple Group I winner Turn Me Loose from Indomitable.
Pencarrow also have one in the draft by champion sire Savabeel and Lot 274 is from outstanding producer Scintillula (IRE), a Group III winning and Group I placed daughter of Galileo. The colt is a full brother to stakes-winner Waikato Girl and Group II placed Butter Chicken with his dam producing four winners from five to race.