It was a tremendous honour for one of Ethereal’s owners to be awarded the ultimate Queen’s Honours on New Year’s Day when Sir Peter Vela was accorded this tremendous tribute.
Sir Peter, and his brother Phillip, has been key instigators in bringing the New Zealand Bloodstock market up to the pivotal role it plays in the Thorougbred breeding industry today. The brothers purchased Wrightson Bloodstock quite some time ago and forcibly propelled the Sale Company into the 21st century very wisely and astutely, now making it a force to be reckoned with all over the world.
Vela Thoroughbreds also have, probably, one of the most prestigious broodmare bands in New Zealand and have produced some incredible bloodlines, one of the most prolific being from the great broodmare Richeborg who produced Romanee Conti to win the Hong Kong Cup and she, in turn, produced the 2001 Stayer of the Year, Ethereal, winner of the GR I New Zealand and Queensland Oaks, Caufield Cup, Melbourne Cup and the BMW, the ONLY horse ever to win those last three races in the one season.
Ethereal also came to the party on New Year’s Day, producing Duquesa, her Encosta De Lago four year old, to win, very conclusively, the New Zealand Herald 2100m event at Ellerslie. The first day of 2014 was a truly memorable day for Sir Peter to enjoy.
Our huge congratulations on such an outstanding achievement and a worthy acknowledgment of the input Sir Peter has put into the Thoroughbred industry, together with the enormous amount of other work he does to support other aspects of the horse industry, such as sponsoring Mark Todd in the Eventing world. A true trailblazer in pursuit of the ideal.