| Ethereal | |
|---|---|
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| Sire: | Rhythm |
| Grandsire: | Mr. Prospector |
| Dam: | Romanee Conti |
| Damsire: | Sir Tristram |
| Sex: | Mare |
| Foaled: | 1997 |
| Country: | New Zealand  |
| Colour: | Bay |
| Breeder: | Peter J. Vela & Phillip M. Vela |
| Owner: | Peter J. Vela & Phillip M. Vela |
| Trainer: | Sheila Laxon |
| Record: | 21: 8-1-3 |
| Earnings: | AUS$4,762,135 |
| Major Racing Wins & Honours & Awards | |
| Major Racing Wins | |
| Doomben Roses (2001) Queensland Oaks (2001) Caulfield Cup (2001) Melbourne Cup (2001) The BMW Stakes (2002) |
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| Racing Awards | |
| Waikato Horse of the Year Award (2002) Australian Champion Stayer (2002) |
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| Infobox last updated on: September 8, 2007. | |
Ethereal (foaled 1997 in New Zealand) is a Thoroughbred mare racehorse. Owned and bred by brothers, Peter and Phillip Vela, her dam was Romanee Conti, a Hong Kong Cup winner and a daughter of leading sire, Sir Tristram. Ethereal was sired by the 1989 U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt and Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner, Rhythm. Her grandsire was the very influential Champion sire, Mr. Prospector. Trained by Sheila Laxon, Ethereal won four Group One races, including three of the most important staying races in Australia, the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups in 2001 and the The BMW Stakes in 2002.
As a broodmare
Immediately following her win in the 2002 BMW Stakes, Ethereal was retired from racing to serve as a broodmare for her owner's Pencarrow Stud in the Waikato region of New Zealand. She immediately attracted some of the top prospective sires from Thoroughbred racing worldwide. Ethereal's first mating was to the 2000 European Horse of the Year, Giant's Causeway, which produced a filly named Uberalles who was third in the Group 2 Great Northern Guineas and was third in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby. In 2004, she produced another filly by Van Nistelrooy, a son of Storm Cat, the stallion who in 2005 commanded the world's highest stud fee of US$500,000. Ethereal's next foal was a colt by Stravinsky, a son of the 1970 EnglishTriple Crown champion, Nijinsky. In 2007, this unnamed colt sold for AUS$1,300,000 at the Karaka Premier sale.
