Coolmore Purchases Wootton Bassett

Coolmore has purchased champion racehorse and sire Wootton Bassett (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}-Balladonia {GB}, by Primo Dominie {GB}) to join its stallion roster. The 12-year-old has stood at Haras d'Etreham in Normandy since retiring to stud in 2012.

Bred by Laundry Cottage Stud, Wootton Bassett was a £46,000 yearling purchase by Bobby O'Ryan from the St Leger Sale in 2009. Trained by Richard Fahey, he went unbeaten through his first four starts in the UK before capping his 2-year-old campaign with a victory in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and thus earning French champion 2-year-old honours.

Wootton Bassett stood for an initial fee of €6,000 but has been on a sharp upward trajectory ever since his first runners hit the racecourse. That initial crop yielded just 23 foals, but 15 of those became winners and two stakes winners, headed by the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G1 Champion and G1 Irish Champion S. winner and European champion 3-year-old Almanzor (Fr), who for the past three seasons has stood alongside his sire at Etreham. Wootton Bassett continued to churn out high-quality horses over the three next years despite having served small books, adding the likes of G3 Prix la Rochette winner The Black Album (Fr) and G3 Prix Fontainebleau victor Wootton (Fr) to the coffers, and he has seen a surge in stakes winners this year with his first large crop of 92 foals now 3-year-olds. He has had eight stakes winners already in 2020, putting him even with Night Of Thunder (Ire), Kingman (GB) and Lope De Vega (Ire). Those include the Fontainebleau winner and Prix du Jockey Club second The Summit (Fr) and G3 Prix Texanita scorer Wooded (Fr), and his Speak Of The Devil (Fr) and Mageva (Fr) were second and third in this year's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. His first crop bred at a five-figure fee, €20,000, are 2-year-olds, and that group already includes Richard Hannon's unbeaten listed winner Chindit (Ire) and a pair of recent first-out winners at Deauville including Midlife Crisis (Fr), who was his sire's first 'TDN Rising Star'. Wootton Bassett's yearlings and foals of 2020 were bred on a €40,000 fee, the same price for which he stood this year.

“From his initial small crops in France, Wootton Bassett has achieved outstanding results,” said Coolmore's David O'Loughlin. “His first crop of just 23 foals included Classic winner and European champion 3-year-old Almanzor; he's had two other colts finish second in the Prix du Jockey Club and two fillies finish second, beaten only a nose, and third in this year's French Guineas, and this all from €6,000 nominations or less. He strikes us as a real Classic stallion, he gets a very good type and is a total outcross with his pedigree free of the major European forces like Sadler's Wells, Galileo (Ire), Montjeu (Ire), Danehill, Green Desert, Invincible Spirit (Ire), Danehill Dancer (Ire) and Dubawi (Ire). We are thrilled that he is coming to Coolmore and are very excited about what he might achieve when paired with our Galileo mares.”

Haras d'Etreham's Nicolas De Chambure added, “It has been an amazing journey, a real pleasure and a great pride for everybody at Etreham to be involved in Wootton Bassett's stud career as he established himself as the most exciting up-and-coming sire in Europe. With his best-bred crops yet to run I have no doubt that he has a brilliant future ahead of him and the quality of the broodmare band at Coolmore will give him a wonderful opportunity to continue his upward trajectory. It is of course with a touch of sadness that myself and the team at Etreham will see him leave the farm, however we are looking forward to the first yearlings this year by his best son Almanzor and to retire the dual Group 1 winner Hello Youmzain in 2021. I would also like to thank all the shareholders and all the breeders that have supported Wootton Bassett during his eight seasons at Etreham.”