Melba Bryce

The boy-made-good story of Wootton Bassett is as time-honoured as life itself. To a degree, it is a rags-to-riches tale, particularly when it comes to the phenomenal trajectory of his stallion career. And it is a story which is ending far too soon. The 17-year-old stallion died on Tuesday at Coolmore Australia in the Hunter Valley after developing acute pneumonia from a bout of choke, a condition in which food blocks the oesophagus, often leading to complications. His passing comes at a time when Wootton Bassett was in his pomp;...

Colin and Melba Bryce's Laundry Cottage Stud is home to 15 broodmares and, though the Hertfordshire operation could certainly be described as boutique, its paddocks have witnessed the formative years of two of the most talked-about horses of recent times. Wootton Bassett (GB) was born there in 2008 and the Group 1-winning juvenile-turned-supersire now commands a stud fee of €300,000. A decade later came Via Sistina (Ire), a 5,000-guinea yearling who became a multi-millionaire on the track and was the top-rated mare in the world last year. While Melba, who...