Wootton bassett

Widely considered one of the shrewdest judges of equine talent on an international scale, Robson Aguiar has described Bucanero Fuerte (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB) as the best horse he has ever ridden and predicted the colt would be very hard to beat in Saturday's G1 Phoenix S. at the Curragh. It was Aguiar who first spotted the potential in the Adrian Murray-trained Bucanero Fuerte as a yearling last year and went to €165,000 to secure the colt from Etreham at the August Sale at Arqana.  Victory in the first juvenile...

Which stallion does the data say is the outstanding sire-of-sires in Britain and Ireland? The answer will surprise you. We often hear chat about a stallion's ability as a sire-of-sires being bandied about, but it is less common to see it examined in a more detailed and data-driven manner. First and foremost, my personal opinion is that using a stallion's record as a sire-of-sires is one of the most brutally harsh measures in all of bloodstock on which to judge a horse. In short, the reality is that the vast...

The opening session of the four-day July Sale at Tattersalls revolved around the well-bred mares on offer and Mick Donohoe of BBA Ireland was once again on hand to take home the top lot when going to 350,000gns to secure Galileo (Ire) mare Sweet And Lovely (Ire) for 350,000gns from WH Bloodstock.  In foal to Wootton Bassett (GB), one of the most exciting sires in Europe, Sweet And Lovely (lot 212) is a full-sister to Aidan O'Brien's Irish and Lancashire Oaks winner Seventh Heaven (Ire).  The sale marked a memorable...

HOKKAIDO, Japan--"Welcome from the USA, from Europe, from Down Under," said Naohiro Goda at Sunday evening's party on the eve of the JRHA Select Sale. The welcome in Japan is always warm, but what is clear is that the extraordinary demand for racehorses in the country makes it difficult for those overseas visitors to make much of a mark in the ring where, once again, new record prices for turnover and average were set on Monday.  The names on the list of buyers were exclusively Japanese, bar that of David...

It never ceases to amaze how much debate the two-year-old races at Royal Ascot generate each year. A quick scan on racing Twitter over the past few days confirmed as much.  For all the fascinating puzzles that the royal meeting will serve up this week, including whether Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) can cope with Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the St James's Palace, what will reign supreme in the Prince Of Wales's or if any of the Australian sprinters can land a blow in the King's Stand S., it's the...

There was a certain poignancy to the debut victory of Islandsinthestream (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) at the Curragh on Wednesday in the absence of the man responsible for developing the colt's family, Peter Katelanis. The Australian owner-breeder died last August and is remembered fondly by Nicolas de Chambure of Haras d'Etreham, who co-bred the Joseph O'Brien-trained juvenile. "I got to meet Peter when I first went to Australia maybe 10 years ago," he said. "We got on really well and then sadly he was diagnosed with cancer last year and...

Swordlestown Little's Mariann Klay, who along with her husband Des Leadon bred the impressive G3 Chester Vase winner and new Derby favourite Arrest (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), says that soft ground will be key to the Juddmonte colt's Epsom challenge.  Arrest, trained by John and Thady Gosden, shot to the head of the Derby market after sluicing up in his favoured testing ground at Chester on Wednesday.  That prompted bookmakers to propel Arrest to Derby favouritism at odds of 6-1, usurping 2,000 Guineas disappointment Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). Klay...

At Newmarket last Tuesday, a fellow racegoer suggested that the racecourse really should up its game in encouraging more people to attend the Craven meeting. I disagreed politely. For a start, there was a decent enough crowd there, enough for atmosphere but not so many that it was tricky to manoeuvre between pre-parade ring, parade ring and racecourse. And secondly, marketing a midweek meeting accompanied by Arctic temperatures just as many people have returned to work and school after the Easter holidays is not the easiest task. I know we...

Is it just me or should France be known as the bloodstock land of opportunity? This is the country that saw Wootton Bassett (GB) and Walk In The Park (Ire) pull themselves up by the bootstraps after entering the stud book at relatively modest sums. There are few serious racing nations that provide as much of a chance for a stallion to flourish than France does. Take Kauto Star (Fr), the greatest staying chaser of the modern era, as an example. He hailed from the largely unheralded Village Star (Fr)...

Continuing our series on the profitability of stallions, this week we are looking at those who stood between £20,000 and £49,999 in 2020. Three of the top four in this table have subsequently graduated to the higher-fee bracket outlined in Part I of this series last Thursday.  As previously stated, we will be examining sires in four key price brackets according to their yearling sales returns of 2022 set against their fees at the time of covering. The average profit has been determined by the stallion's fee plus a figure...

As we approach the opening of the 2023 breeding season, the TDN staff is once again sitting down with leading breeders to find out what stallions they have chosen for their mares, and why. First up: Bobby Flay. AMERICA (m, 12, A. P. Indy--Lacadena, by Fasliyev), booked to Gun Runner As she continues to produce quality foals, including MGSW First Captain (Curlin), the co-sales topper at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale for $1.5 million, and his full-sister, who sold for $2 million at Saratoga last August, I'm excited to see...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday's Insights features a son of G1SW Marylebone. 17.30 Chelmsford City, Nov, £13,999, 2yo, 8f (AWT) Michael Tabor's WIGMORE STREET (American Pharoah) is an unraced half-brother to two black-type performers out of GI Matron S. heroine Marylebone (Unbridled's Song) and starts out for the Simon and Ed Crisford yard...