Nap hand of Group 1 winners already but best is yet to come from Wootton Bassett

Aisling Crowe on a sire who is scaling the peaks of European bloodstock

Wootton Bassett stretches his legs in his paddock at CoolmroeCredit: Coolmore

If ever a stallion can be said to have built their career from the ground up it is Wootton Bassett, the Group 1-winning two-year-old who produced a champion from a tiny first crop and has risen to become one of the most expensive and sought-after stallions in Europe in just a decade.

Wootton Bassett's ascent to the elite is all the more remarkable for the manner in which it has been achieved, with small crops at the start of his career bred on very affordable covering fees.

He is from the first crop of Iffraaj, who stood for €12,000 at Darley's Kildangan Stud for his first two seasons, and he provided his sire with the perfect start to his stud career when winning the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at the end of an unbeaten juvenile season for Richard Fahey.

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Aisling CroweBloodstock journalist

Published on 9 January 2022inFeatures

Last updated 12:26, 12 January 2022

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