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Son of Wootton Bassett will stand for a fee of $22,000
Wooded (Wootton Bassett) will shuttle to Swettenham Stud in 2022.
A multiple Group performer as a juvenile in France, the Al Shaqab Racing-owned Wooded impressively won the Prix Texanita (Gr 3, 1200m) on his seasonal debut as a three-year-old and his best win came in the Prix de l'Abbaye (Gr 1, 1000m) at Longchamp later that season. He retired from racing having won three of his nine career starts and placing in a further four.
Not surprisingly, Swettenham principal, Adam Sangster, is ecstatic at securing Wooded, the first son of Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) to stand in Australia, for stud duties.
"It's ironic really, I was actually in France last month to negotiate Toronado's permanent move to Swettenham," Sangster said. "Toronado has been kicking goals all over the shop with horses like Masked Crusader and Shelby Sixtysix and covered a full book in each of the past five seasons.
"Toronado has been shuttling – courtesy of Al Shaqab – from Haras de Bouquetot in France and while I was discussing Toronado with Stud Manager, Benoit Jeffroy, he insisted I have a look at Toronado's barnmate, Wooded … particularly his first foals!
"Obviously I was familiar with what Wooded had done on the track – apart from being an outstanding 2YO, he won the Abbaye carrying a big weight and on a surface that didn't suit. But frankly, I was just blown away by the quality of his foals and I simply had to get him for our farm.
"A good example is the Sadler's Wells mare Changing Skies … she's a multiple Group winner and a full or half to eight stakes winners – 3 of them Champions. As you can imagine she's been to the very best stallions in Europe but only thrown, to date, some fairly ordinary types. Yet Benoit tells me that her Wooded foal is by far the best yet."
Wooded will stand at an introductory fee of $22,000 (inc GST) this spring.
"The 'line' clearly works in this part of the world," Sangster continued. "Wootton Bassett is firing on all cylinders and stood at $71,500 in Australia last season (€150,000 in Ireland). It's little wonder that Almanzor is going great guns in New Zealand as well when you consider Wootton Bassett's sire, Iffraaj, produced Jon Snow, Gingernuts, Turn Me Loose, Wyndspelle and Western Empire when standing across the ditch, while Irish sprinter, Jungle Cat, won the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes here in Australia.
"It's worth keeping in mind that Wootton Bassett's current five-year-old crop – conceived at a fee of just €6,000 – has produced 12 stakes winners so I'm anticipating plenty of interest in Wooded right out of the gate."