G2 victory for Penny’s Picnic

Kheleyf has enjoyed a tremendous year with his current crop of two-year-olds, and the very first of this talented group to make his presence felt way back in March – Penny’s Picnic – rounded off his season in the best possible fashion on 6 November when winning the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte.

Settled towards the rear during the early stages of the six-furlong contest, Penny’s Picnic made light work of the testing conditions and swept down the home straight, easing up close to home to win by a length.

Penny’s Picnic made a successful debut at Saint-Cloud on 27 March, the start of a three-race unbeaten streak that included the Listed Prix La Fleche. He took his first Group race last month, running out the impressive winner of the G3 Prix Eclipse at Chantilly.

Bred by F Montauban, Penny’s Picnic is the first foal out of the Kingmambo mare Zerky, a full-sister to the multiple Group winner Penny’s Gold and a granddaughter of the Champion Mrs Penny. Zerky also has a full-sister yearling to Penny’s Picnic and is currently in foal to Iffraaj.

Kheleyf is Europe’s leading sire of juveniles this year, having recorded an outstanding 36 individual two-year-old winners. He has long been a source of talented, precocious runners and has sired more juvenile winners since 2008 than any other British stallion.