Wootton Bassett (GB)

Coming into Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix du Moulin de Longchamp very much under the radar, Al Shaqab's Sahlan (Wootton Bassett) became the latest of Francis Graffard's brigade to enter the spotlight during the trainer's unforgettable year. Edging a tight photo ahead of Rosallion (Blue Point), the highly-regarded three-year-old whose finest hour prior to this had been a latest win in the G3 Prix Daphnis landed odds of 16-1 from racing's relentless hard-luck story. Securing an unexpected eighth top-level victory for the stable in 2025, Mickael Barzalona thrust him to a...

Justifying 10-11 favouritism in The Curragh's opening mile maiden on Saturday, Ballydoyle's Hawk Mountain (Wootton Bassett) made all under Wayne Lordan deputising for the stricken Ryan Moore. Always comfortable setting his own tempo, the son of the dual Group 1 winner Hydrangea (Galileo) who was fifth on debut here earlier this month saw off Mr Vettori (Lope De Vega) to score by 1 1/2 lengths. ✅ Off the mark Hawk Mountain (Wootton Bassett x Hydrangea) opens the account at the second time of asking for team Ballydoyle @curraghrace pic.twitter.com/PGo9dlH8vP —...

Completing The Curragh's Futurity-Debutante double on Saturday for Aidan O'Brien and Wayne Lordan, Composing (Wootton Bassett) justified 4-5 favouritism without any hint of concern in the Group 2 contest. Always happy tracking Suzie Songs (Starspangledbanner) in second, the Silver Flash winner took control two out and forged a straightfoward 2 1/2-length success from that Moyglare filly to bring up a 15th renewal for her stable. "She's a lovely straightforward filly and when she got there she was very laid-back and very professional," the master of Ballydoyle said. "If all is...

Making it win number 18 for Aidan O'Brien in Saturday's G2 Coolmore Stud Wootton Bassett Tom Cooper Irish EBF Futurity Stakes, Constitution River (Wootton Bassett) dominated the Curragh contest from start to finish to stake his Classic claims for 2026. Sent on by Wayne Lordan, the 5-6 favourite who had followed an encouraging debut second at Newmarket with a win at Galway turned it on two out to dismiss Geryon (Lope De Vega) by two lengths. "He's a lovely colt and was good and professional," Lordan said of the stable's...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Though he was well aware of her pedigree, trainer Brad Cox said he didn't need a piece of paper to help him forecast Fille d'Oro's (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) future. "She didn't show us much on the dirt at Keeneland when she came in," Cox said. "She struggled a little bit on the dirt. We transferred her over to the synthetic and she really improved. Then we breezed her up here on the turf last week and she was really nice, a really good move." In...

Enjoying the stand-out profile ahead of Thursday's Arqana Series Des Poulains at Deauville, TBT Racing's €820,000 Arqana Breezer Northern Champion (Wootton Bassett) didn't disappoint en route to his big debut payday. Always comfortable tracking the leaders under Kieran Shoemark, the 17-5 favourite stayed on strongly to hit the front inside the final furlong and beat compatriot River Card (Hello Youmzain) by a length. "He was very brave and has plenty of speed," Shoemark said of the Ed Walker-trained son of the G3 Bow Mistress winner Zargos (Shamardal). "He knew his...

Making the most of the absurd situation of starting a Group One race by flag, Ryan Moore seized an instant advantage on Whirl (Wootton Bassett) in Thursday's Qatar Nassau Stakes and never looked back. With Goodwood's officials unwilling to allow the fillies into the starting stalls due to the persistent threat of thunder, a ragged start saw the 6-5 favourite romp into a clear advantage with See The Fire (Sea The Stars) notably slowly into her stride. The winner's compatriot Cercene (Australia) looked the most potent threat heading to two...

Able to control Thursday's G3 Saudi Cup Silver Flash Stakes from an early stage, Ryan Moore turned that luxury into sheer dominance as the hot favourite Composing (Wootton Bassett) duly extended the admirable record of Aidan O'Brien in this year's juvenile Pattern races. Soon in front, the Curragh maiden winner dictated on her own terms and kicked turning for home to put her stamp on Leopardstown's seven-furlong contest. Skydance (Night Of Thunder) was 3 1/4 lengths behind the 4-9 favourite in a slowly-run affair which was over two seconds slower...

Directly after the Eclipse, Aidan O'Brien was enjoying another notable success in his native Ireland as the 2-year-old colt Daytona (Wootton Bassett) captured the inaugural Listed Irish EBF Pat Smullen Stakes at Naas. Sent off the 4-5 favourite for the mile contest, the Gowran Park debut winner moved to market-rival North Coast (Starman) approaching the final furlong and soon had the race wrapped up. At the line, the Wayne Lordan-ridden 500,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 graduate had 3 1/4-lengths to spare over that Joseph O'Brien trainee as Ballydoyle collected another...

When it comes to Sandown's G1 Coral-Eclipse, there has been a shift of power to the Classic generation in recent times with seven of the last ten going their way. Saturday's renewal will either see a fifth consecutive success for the 3-year-olds or a break in the sequence and the onus is on Ombudsman to reestablish the reputation of the older horses. Godolphin's son of Night Of Thunder is the key protagonist on his emphatic Prince of Wales's Stakes success last month and to date has no blemish on his...

As if Saturday's action at The Curragh hadn't already championed Cooomore's stratospheric Wootton Bassett, along came Whirl to hammer home the point in a thrilling renewal of the feature G1 Pretty Polly Stakes. Outgunning Juddmonte's accomplished Kalpana (Study Of Man) following a prolonged tussle between the elite mastercraftsmen Ryan Moore and Colin Keane, Ballydoyle's Oaks runner-up followed on where the stable's Dorset and Beautify had led earlier in the afternoon. Reminding the world that he remains a racing fan, Aidan O'Brien was quick to pay tribute to the actors involved...

Making it a quickfire double on The Curragh's Saturday card for the lethal combination of Aidan O'Brien, Ryan Moore and Wootton Bassett, Beautify ended the unbeaten run of Lady Iman (Starman) in a demanding renewal of the G2 Airlie Stud Stakes. "Ryan was very impressed. He said he'd love to go up to seven with her, that's a very good sign when you hear him talking like that," the Ballydoyle handler said. "Obviously she's a Moyglare-type filly when Ryan says that, but obviously gets six very strong and travelled very...