The Laz is having an Effect

He has been a ‘buzz’ horse even before that winning debut back in late 2024, but now that he has won 8 of his 12 starts (with four placings and $138,000), The Lazarus Effect is really starting to climb the national rankings when one debates who the best pacer in the land might be. If he heads south for the Invercargill Cup in two weeks’ time — and if he were to beat the likes of Republican Party — would he enter the conversation of who the best male pacer in New Zealand currently is?

His pedigree, on deeper inspection, certainly supports him as a horse capable of rising to the top. His dam Brook Street was unraced but is by the super-sire Art Major, who is already well on the way to becoming an elite broodmare sire.

His second dam Meet Me In Mayfair (Falcon Seelster – English Elegance), bred by Northern breeder Bruce Carter, won five races and proved highly effective at stud. Her first foal, Dorchester, won five of seven starts, while her third foal Ebury Street (nine wins, $104,000) was similarly talented. Park Lane, a full brother to Brook Street, won six – mostly in Australia – rounding out a strong contribution from a mare who left only five foals.

English Elegance herself won 13 races, eight of them in America where she earned the majority of her $291,000 in stakes and took a best mile rate of 1:53.2. She returned to New Zealand with a broodmare career in mind and made her mark.

Beyond Meet Me In Mayfair, her only other filly was Sloane Square (four wins). At stud, she has already produced three winners from four foals, including the smart juvenile The Savoy — a two-year-old winner this season for Carter and trainer Tate Hopkins.

The family continues with depth. English Elegance was from the unraced Candle In The Wind (Soky’s Atom – Marilyn). While Marilyn herself was unraced, she came from one of Mid-Canterbury’s great families, developed over generations by Bevan and Keith Grice. Although Marilyn proved somewhat disappointing as a broodmare despite her strong pedigree (Timely Knight – Anna Pavalova), eight of her 15 foals made the races, with Fiddler (six wins) and French Dynamite (seven wins) the most notable.

Her dam Anna Pavalova was, on the other hand, a major success at stud. Despite being unraced herself, she left Derby (El Patron), who won his first 10 starts for Richard Brosnan and contested a New Zealand Cup after only 13 raceday appearances. Next came Bahrain (by Smooth Fella), a smart five-race winner for a young Robert Dunn. Cuddle Me Doo won five; Cock Robin won six.

Two unraced daughters, Exciting and Lily Of Laguna, also bred on with notable success.
Exciting (by Mark Lobell) left Shivna (seven wins), one of Stonewall Stud’s earliest standardbred purchases. As a broodmare, Shivna left Cruzee Lass (nine wins, $100k) and Freespin (10 wins).
Lily Of Laguna (by Butler BG) produced several good winners for the Barlow family, long-time commercial vendors at the Northern yearling sales.

Anna Pavalova was by Armbro Del from Coo Doo. The latter had a foal every year from 1967 to 1984 and produced some top-liners. Barbara Del won nine, earning the mantle of top two-year-old filly of her year. Palestine won 18 races and was a mainstay of Cup-class racing in the 1970s. Finest Hour won five for Robin Butt before being exported to America, and Columnist (seven wins) did a strong job for master horseman Jack Smolenski. Remarkably, 13 of her 18 foals raced, with 10 becoming winners — a testament to the durability and quality of the breed.

This is a family with depth, class, and a long history of producing high-quality racehorses for many of our great stables.

If The Lazarus Effect continues his upward trajectory, he looks poised to add yet another impressive chapter to this fine lineage.