Trainer Richard Fahey Thursday announced that WOOTTON BASSET (Iffraaj) has
been retired following a disappointing sophomore campaign. Owned by Frank Brady
and the Cosmic Cases, the £46,000 DONAUG yearling went unbeaten through his
two-year-old campaign and after collecting the valuable DBS Premier Yearling S.
at York and Weatherbys Insurance £300,000 Two-Year-Old S. at Doncaster earned
champion status in France when victorious in Longchamp’s Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere
(Fr-G1).
On the latter occasion, he had the subsequent Group 1 winners Tin Horse
(Sakhee) and Moonlight Cloud (Invincible Spirit) behind and hopes were high that
he would build on that during his classic campaign. After a spring setback, the
bay was fifth in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (Fr-G1) back at Longchamp in May
and seventh in the St James’s Palace S. (Eng-G1) at Royal Ascot the following
month.
Reverting to sprinting for the Prix Maurice de Gheest (Fr-G1) at Deauville in
August, he was fifth there before a tame effort when trailing in the Haydock
Sprint Cup (Eng-G1) three weeks ago.
“Wootton Bassett has been retired and we now have a few people inquiring
about stud duty,” Fahey told sportinglife.com. “Nothing is concrete yet and we
still
have some options, but we are hoping to do the best for the horse and help him
get the best chance to be a successful sire.
“He was rated 120 and the champion two-year-old in France and his speed is
what people will probably want. He had a few issues this year, but won five out
of five as a juvenile. He is sound now, but we felt the time was right to find a
home for him to cover mares.”
In total, Wootton Bassett won five of his nine starts and more than £540,000
in prize money.