Seven days in breeding … Wootton Bassett leaves a massive legacy

In this edition:

• Coolmore mourns Wootton Bassett 
• Run The Numbers – The stallion-making trainer in the stallion-making race 
• Rowe On Monday – Agent-owner relationship now set in Stone, Tatts focus for Mulcaster, strong Rosemont connection to HK winner 
• Yulong joins Charm Stone syndicate at cost of $310,000  
• Zhang leading the charge for $2 million raceday in mainland China
• Caulfield Guineas winner’s home in welfare spotlight 

It would have been a bittersweet moment for the team at Coolmore Australia as they watched West Of Swindon defy all in the Group 2 Stutt Stakes at Moonee Valley last Friday.

The three-year-old’s win, his first in six starts, was momentous in that it was his sire Wootton Bassett’s first southern hemisphere-bred stakes winner after a frustrating eight near-misses with his first Australian-conceived crop.

That breakthrough victory for the Ciaron Maher-trained colt came just days after the sudden death of Coolmore’s sire phenomenon Wootton Bassett, the sire who achieved greatness at stud from humble beginnings in France.

He has continued his upward trajectory in stunning fashion since Coolmore’s Magnier family paid an enormous sum to buy Wootton Bassett in 2020 when it was clear the son of Iffraaj was one out of the box. He was the one anointed to fill the enormous shoes of Galileo, who died shortly after his arrival at Coolmore. 

It was at Coolmore’s Hunter Valley farm, where he was shuttling for a fifth straight season, that Wootton Bassett was euthanised after a short but debilitating illness despite the best of veterinary care.

A measure of the global interest and impact of Wootton Bassett is that our report was the most-read article on The Straight so far in 2025. 

It was hoped that when this writer made a call to Coolmore soon after last week’s Seven Days in Breeding email had been sent on suggestions Wootton Bassett had died, or was not in a good way, were off the mark. Sadly, they weren’t.

He was 17, the same age that the dual hemisphere champion and Coolmore-linked sire Danehill died at in 2003. Danehill’s impact was immense, a true breed-shaper, having sired 347 stakes winners globally, 175 of which were born in the southern hemisphere.

Among them, of course, were sire sons Flying Spur, Redoute’s Choice and Fastnet Rock – another great stallion Coolmore farewelled earlier this month – as well as Exceed And Excel.

And it was Exceed And Excel who influenced Saturday’s dynamic performance by grandson Beiwacht, who smashed the Rosehill 1400m track record in an all-the-way 1:20.79-second display of raw speed in the Golden Rose.

Beiwacht is a son of Darley’s young champion sprinter Bivouac, whose fortunes are well and truly on the up.

Exceed And Excel, a champion sire in his own right, was also the dam sire of Golden Rose runner-up Wodeton, a Coolmore-owned colt by Wootton Bassett, and the third-placed Tempted, a daughter of Street Boss.

Beiwacht also became Chris Waller’s 182nd Group 1 winner and the colt is certain to be retired to Darley at the completion of his racing career, adding to the growing list of stallions prepared by the elite trainer. 

On Friday night down south, before Beiwacht lit up the Rosehill track the following day, valuable mare Charm Stone added to her Group 1 record with her own dominant display in the Manikato Stakes.

It was further vindication for the high-stakes business model agent Sheamus Mills and major part-owner Heath Newton have pursued over the past decade which has led them to compiling a boutique broodmare band.

Mills revealed to Rowe On Monday just how the relationship between he and Newton, the major backer of the fillies’ syndicate, came about more than 10 years ago.

Yulong bought into Charm Stone, acquiring the 10 per cent share in the I Am Invincible mare previously owned by Rob Cummings for $310,000 through Inglis Digital two days before her Manikato Stakes win. 

It’s suggested that Charm Stone’s value could be worth north of $4 million on the back of her second Group 1 win.

Yulong founder Zhang Yuesheng is taking all before him on the Australian racing scene, with Via Sistina’s Cox Plate favouritism on the line in Saturday’s Turnbull Stakes at Flemington, but he’s also investing heavily in the sport in his home country.

Plans are afoot for a Zhang-backed $2 million race day to be conducted in China next year,  a move that is already encouraging investment in new horses from his fellow Chinese and Hong Kong owners.

Meanwhile, the immediate stud future of Griff, the 2023 Caulfield Guineas winner who has already changed hands multiple times, is unclear.

The first crop Group 1-winning son of Trapeze Artist has been caught up in a concerning equine welfare case at Tasmania’s Weona Park Stud where he is standing alongside four other stallions, Bon Aurum, Sports Edition, More Than Value and Utopian.

Enjoy your racing week with the Breeders’ Plate, Gimcrack Stakes and Maribyrnong Trial sure to command interest before the Group 1s take centre stage at Randwick and Flemington respectively later in the day.

Regards,

Tim Rowe

Senior Journalist

The Straight