Equinties - wootton bassett

Gm Equinauts

The racing world lost a monster stallion overnight.

His story is incredible and quite possibly, totally unique. We’re not sure if there’s ever been a horse who owned such an unusual story to the top. He was a champion 2yo, couldn’t win a race as a 3yo, retired and stood for the modest sum of £4k in France, only then to be acquired by the mighty Coolmore for a rumoured 50 million demanding £250k a mare in both hemispheres.

Please read our thread (above) for a deeper study into the life of one of the most versatile stallions the world has ever seen. He was a true great who has sadly been taken from us far too soon.

We still can’t believe it.

RIP WOOTTON BASSETT.

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

ALWAYS GROUP 1 QUALITY

The pre-race messages, the gamble, the way he quickened from the rear of the field, and the way he stayed on through the line, it’s fair to assume that ALMERIC is a proper horse.

Saturday’s Listed Doonside Cup may not have been the strongest race we’ve ever seen, but no one can argue ALMERIC could have done it any easier. Oisin Murphy rode him with a good deal of confidence, which screams that everyone connected to the horse knows how good he could be.

And then, there’s the entry he has for the Group 1 British Champions Stakes. He is 12/1 from 25s for the big Group 1 1m2f contest at Ascot next month, but will Andrew Balding and connections take the plunge?

Well, not only will they give him the chance, but it seems as if this race has always been circled in the calendar with a big red marker. That is bullish.

His owner-breeder, Kirsten Rausing, said: "It [Champion Stakes] was always the plan as Andrew [Balding, trainer] has always maintained that he's a Group 1 horse. He's showing plenty of ability even now. He's still lightly raced so there’s room for gradually improving results, but the innate ability was there from the word go.

"I was very pleased with his impressive win at Ayr, especially as he had not run for over 150 days and was not fully wound up for this return, according to Andrew, which in itself should contribute to further progress.

"He was a good two-year-old and it should be borne in mind that he didn't join Andrew's until the end April last year, having been pre-trained at the Curragh by Dick Brabazon up until then."

Whatever way you look at this horse, it’s hard not to be quite excited by what he could do in Berkshire next month. He’s won three of his four starts, and he managed to run to an RPR of 121 on his first start for 158 days, when we all know he wouldn’t have been full “wound up”, as Rausing admitted.

They have saved him for some softer ground, and that has hopefully worked out well for Champions Day. OMBUDSMAN, CALANDAGAN, ANMAAT, and maybe even DELACROIX will be strong opposition, but he will be the fresher horse, and he arguably has as high a ceiling as the OMBUDSMAN. Yes, OMBUDSMAN has clearly shown more on the track, but at this stage right now, who knows how high ALMERIC could rise?

There is something that could be against ALMERIC, but it’s only speculation currently. The next week of weather is set to be glorious, and there is no guarantee what the weather is going to do after. If rain doesn’t arrive, and Ascot continues to get quicker, that wouldn’t be to ALMERIC’s preference. He probably wants a bit of dig underfoot, so keep your eyes out for what the heavens have in store.

PUNCHY QUOTES

Ahead of the Lowther last month, Richard Hughes didn’t stop shouting from the rooftops about AMERICAN QUEEN. “Best filly this…special one to beat her that”. It’s no surprise she went off fave for the race after just one run (a win) under her belt.

We all know how it ended for him, but unbelievably, after getting spanked having giving it the big one, he’s back at it and doubling down!

He said: "We felt she had the ability. We thought she might have lacked that little bit of racecourse experience, but we just thought we'd run her straight in it and take our chance. She didn't let us down as she ran a blinder.

"She's the best filly I've had. We've only a length to make up with the winner, and we've seen at home that she's definitely made that up. She does all her routine canters so easily, but she needed a bit of work on the grass. She put on a few kilos, but that gallop will have put her spot on.

"She worked really well on the Rowley Mile and Billy was impressed with her. He rode her at Haydock and he can't believe how much she's come on. We'll wrap her up for the week now and hope we can get her there in one piece.

"We think she's improved a lot [since York]. She went in there as a raw filly who probably won too easily on her debut and didn't learn anything, so she definitely learned plenty last time, and her gallop was so professional. It's a big difference we've seen.

"We know the favourite [Royal Fixation], so we'll have to improve a length or two to beat her, but there are a few others in the middle. Aidan [O'Brien] might only run one of his. I'd say True Love is the one to come out of it, and I think she'd be the one to beat.

We love this, even if we don’t necessarily believe what Hughes is saying. In the Lowther, AMERICA QUEEN had a pretty decent run at things on the far side rail, and she looked to do all she could to win that day.

ROYAL FIXATION was the one that was positioned right out the back of the field, and she was also the one who flew home basically on her own down the outside. On the eye, she looked to be the best horse in that race, and if there was an eye-catcher in the contest, it was arguably the third, STAYA, who had a bit of a luckless run behind AMERICA QUEEN.

But, ultimately, we love this chat, because it adds to the race a bit more, and we respect Hughes having another go at ROYAL FIXATION (even though we do think he’s taken a knock to the head).

In this sport, if horses just raced against each other once and never did it again, that would get so boring. Imagine if KAUTO STAR and DENMAN drew stumps after the 2007 Gold Cup? How sad would that have been!?

She is well within her rights to have another go, and if Hughes thinks she has improved for York, then she should make it an even better race than the Lowther. Of course, she’ll still chase home ROYAL FIXATION’s shadow, but that’s by the by.

Roll on Saturday!

KEEP AN EYE ON THIS ONE

As debuts go, YAUPON DE REPLAY’s debut yesterday was as good as any owner could wish for. That’s because Joseph O’Brien’s juvenile filly won a Listed contest at Leopardstown on her first ever run, which means she locked up Listed black-type for future breeding plans. Job done.

By the American sire YAUPON out of the two-time GOLDENCENTS mare MALIBU MISCHIEF, she was bought as a two-year-old in May for $150,000, which is the same price she went for as a yearling nine months earlier. It’s also just $45,000 more than what she cost as a foal in November 2023, so even though she is just a juvenile with one run, she’s been handed around for large wads of cash already.

Anyway, what about yesterday’s win. Joseph O’Brien pitched her into this company as they always “liked what we saw at home”, and he told Chris Hayes to “educate her early”.

This is why she was positioned out the back of the field early, with a view to producing her late with a strong effort. It’s always nice when a plan comes together!
She travelled all over her opponents with just over two furlongs to go, and she looked like a seasoned professional when she came to make her challenge. It was quite impressive, especially for a debut in a Listed race.

With her American-based pedigree, it seems like her trainer and race planner, Kevin Blake, are not shying away of a trip back to her homeland, as O’Brien said: “I'd say they went a nice gallop and that helped her to relax but still it's always hard to win from anywhere behind mid-field here, especially on debut. She's a nice filly. We felt like she was working like it was worth a shot and we thought that she'd learn a lot in the race.
“She's an exciting filly for the future. After today you can look at things like the Breeders' Cup, she's an American-bred filly and she's fast. She has a lot of options.”

We assume it would be the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, which would be a very ballsy play from connections. Fair play.

Oh, also, this wasn’t O’Brien’s only winner on the day. STARFORD won at Listowel, MIRACLE BEAUTY won a handicap at Leopardstown, and the brilliantly LOVE IS BLIND won a maiden on her second start. Why is she brilliantly named? Well, she only has one eye after a paddock accident as a foal. She certainly isn’t lacking ability with just the one eye on her side!

RISK ON

We were very unlucky not to get an 18/1 winner on the board yesterday:

Today we’re looking to the other end of the market, so apologies if shorties aren’t your thing.

15.28 BEAU QUALI

This is the easiest race he’s faced yet and can finally get his head in front with everything in his favour. 6/4 a good win bet and then lever RF on Saturday to 5’s.

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