Wootton Bassett (GB)

Peter Brant's €$1.95-million investment at last year's Arqana December sale to acquire Speak of the Devil (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) looks like it might be paying off as the even-money favorite in Saturday's GII Churchill Distaff Turf Mile S. showed off an uncommon turn-of-foot to blow away fellow Brant/Chad Brown representative and 'TDN Rising Star' In Italian. The victory came almost exactly 24 hours after Brant and Brown celebrated another victory with a fast-finishing female in still-unbeaten GIII Modesty S. heroine Bleecker Street (Quality Road). Brown saddled the exacta in...

Fresh off running second in the Mar. 26 G1 Al Quoz Sprint over the Meydan turf in Dubai, Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire})'s connections are considering a start in the G2 Duke Of York S. on May 11 for the 4-year-old filly. The McMurray Family colourbearer won the G3 Hackwood S. last July and ran fourth in the G1 Betfair Sprint Cup S. on Sept. 4. She tired to 11th in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S. on Oct. 16 and was third in the G3 1351 Turf...

Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who won the G3 Acomb S. and G2 Royal Lodge S. in succession in August and September, respectively, has developed well this winter and is likely to try the G1 Cazoo Derby route, according to co-trainer Charlie Johnston. Eighth in the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy S. on Oct. 23 where he picked up an injury, the bay has been recuperating, but looks more of a "mile-and-a-quarter-plus" horse to Johnston and his co-trainer father Mark. Originally, the training duo had pencilled in...

Wootton Bassett (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), who will stand for €150,000 in 2022, leads the Coolmore Stud roster next year. Following the passing of his former stablemate, the breed-shaping Galileo (Ire) earlier this year, the dark bay has continued to burnish his reputation with 12 of his progeny winning stakes-eight at group level--in 2021. The fillies Incarville (Fr) and Zellie (Fr) took the G1 Prix Saint-Alary and G1 Prix Marcel Boussac, respectively, increasing his overall Group 1 winners to five. Juvenile colts Royal Patronage (Fr), Atomic Jones (Fr) and Topgear (Fr)...

Graded stakes winner Tamahere (Fr) (Wootton Bassett (GB) - Alatasarai (Ire), by Giant's Causeway) has been supplemented to the upcoming Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Catalogued as Hip 273, she will be consigned as a racing/broodmare prospect by ELiTE, agent. Tamahere began her career in her native France, where she was stakes placed at two and a stakes winner at three.  Capturing her Stateside debut in the GII Sands Point S. for Chad Brown, she was second in the GI Coolmore Jenny Wiley S. this term and won the Violet S. at...

DEAUVILLE, France--A strong opening day of the Arqana October Sale saw a colt by Camelot (GB) top proceedings at €440,000, bought late in the session by Nicolas de Watrigant of Mandore International Agency on behalf of MV Magnier. Consigned by the leading vendor Ecurie des Monceaux, lot 209 is a half-brother to the listed Prix Michel Houyvet winner Big Blue (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). As has been seen throughout the European yearling season so far, there was a buoyant level of trade in Deauville on Monday, with figures exceeding the pre-pandemic...

Two-time group winner Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) will take part in the Oct. 23 G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster. The Mark Johnston trainee won the G3 Acomb S. two starts back on Aug. 18 and defeated subsequent G3 Autumn S. victor Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G2 Royal Lodge S. at Newmarket on Sept. 25. "We're heading to the Vertem Futurity," said Harry Herbert, racing manager for owners Highclere Thoroughbred Racing. "Mark and Charlie [Johnston] are very happy with him--I've seen them at the sales--and the...

Both Group 1 winner Zellie (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and 'TDN Rising Star' Raclette (GB) (Frankel {GB}) will not be seen on a racecourse again this season, but trainer Andre Fabre has highlighted 1000 Guineas targets for his charges. Owned for her last three starts by Ali Hamad Al Attiya's Al Wasmiyah Farm, the bay won three races for Fabre's daughter Lavinia including the July 11 Listed Prix Roland de Chambure. She ran second in the G3 Prix Six Perfections at Deauville in August in her first run for her...

Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac which opened ParisLongchamp's Arc fixture took place without TDN Rising Star and likely favourite Raclette (GB) (Frankel {GB}) after Andre Fabre opted to wait for Friday's G3 Oh So Sharp S. due to an excess of 20 millimetres of rain falling pre-racing. How Juddmonte's unbeaten daughter of Emollient (Empire Maker) would have coped with the very soft ground is an unknown, but her stablemate Zellie (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) handled it with aplomb to deny the 33-1 shot Times Square (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) in...

Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's 62,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 graduate Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) shed maiden status in style when routing his rivals by five lengths and more in a July 29 Epsom novices' event and the Mark Johnston trainee defied odds of 25-1 when value for his 2 1/4-length score in York's Aug. 18 G3 Acomb S. when last seen. The April-foaled bay had previously encountered Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) when second to that subsequent G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. hero in a June 11 Sandown...

Hisaaki Saito's hitherto unbeaten 2-year-old colt Topgear (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) continued on a roll and took his tally to a perfect three from three with a hard-fought victory in Friday's G3 Prix Eclipse at Chantilly. The April-foaled dark bay went postward as the crowd's 8-5 choice returning off wins in competitive heats at Deauville last month and was under a firm hold behind the leaders in fourth through the early fractions of this six-furlong dash. Powering forward to join German raider Best Flying (Fr) (Pedro the Great) soon after...

Fresh from winning the opening Listed Ingabelle S. on Saturday, Ger Lyons and Colin Keane combined to enjoy the perfect start to Leopardstown's Irish Champions Day when following up in the G2 KPMG Champions Juvenile S. with Atomic Jones (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). Owned by Sean Jones, David Spratt and Lynne Lyons, the bay who had won on his sole start in a seven-furlong maiden at The Curragh June 27 was restrained early from his low draw to race with two behind. Switched outside with three furlongs remaining, the 10-1...