‘He’s definitely a horse we feel is going in the right direction – so it’s exciting’
Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) has exploded onto the scene as his first southern-born runners light up Australian tracks, and one of the most vaunted of them all is set to make his keenly awaited bow at Rosehill on Saturday – weather permitting.
Wodeton is the latest shiny new product from the production line of Coolmore and Chris Waller and will carry the navy blue and James McDonald as an odds-on favourite in Saturday’s card-opening two-year-old Chandon Handicap (1100m).
Bred by John Camilleri’s Fairway Thoroughbreds, and bought by Coolmore’s Tom Magnier from Segenhoe Stud’s draft for $1.6 million as the joint fifth-highest lot at Magic Millions Gold Coast last year, Wodeton hasn’t raced yet but is third favourite for the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) – in a market with four Wootton Bassetts in the top 11.
Nor has he won a barrier trial, but the impressive nature of his two seconds at Warwick Farm led bookmakers on Friday to install him as a $1.80 favourite for his debut appearance.
On October 29, Wodeton sat three-wide without cover and hit the line strongly for an 0.7 length second to another son of his surging sire in West Of Swindon, the Team Hawkes colt who franked the form when a 0.53 length second in the Golden Gift (1100m) behind North England (Farnan).
At his next outing on January 3, Wodeton had to take an inside line but ran home impressively under a tight hold from McDonald for an 0.28 length second to Bjorn Baker’s Namaste (Savabeel), who was third on debut in a two-year-old handicap (1100m) at Wyong last Saturday.
Many have stumbled by reading too much into trial form, but Wodeton’s efforts looked particularly sharp, especially considering Waller’s preference for the quiet barrier trial.
And while Sydney’s rain has cast some doubt on whether he will start on Saturday, whenever he does hit the track his connections believe he will be another sparkling advertisement for his headline-grabbing sire.
“The beauty of it for us was that in his first trial, he was there to make loads of mistakes and get a great experience, and that’s exactly what he did, but he still finished it strongly after racing wide,” Coolmore’s racing and bloodstock manager John Kennedy told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“The form out of that trial is very good. West Of Swindon has since run second in the Golden Gift and he’s in a stable in Team Hawkes that knows a lot about Wootton Bassett. They have a couple of his that they hold in high regard, and I’d think they have more to come. So I imagine it’s a good formline into what the two-year-olds are going to do for the rest of the year.
“In his second trial, Wodeton jumped super, J-Mac did a really good job to get cover, and then he ran really well to the line and really enjoyed himself. You love to see them boxing up the inside like that, pinning the ears back and taking on the competition, and you can’t beat that Sydney trial form – it always comes through at some point.
“It will be great to see what happens on Saturday, but he’s definitely a horse we feel is going in the right direction. So it’s exciting.”
Bookmakers have Wodeton at $15 for the Slipper – in a market heavy on Wootton Bassetts. The Coolmore shuttler also has the $11 favourite, Michael Freedman’s debut-winning Pallaton, the $17 West Of Swindon, and Gallo Nero, who was rated a $51 chance after his third-placed finish in Friday night’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) at the Gold Coast.
The look of that market is something which understandably has Coolmore delighted about their boom stallion, who stood here last spring for $192,500 (inc GST), up from $93,500 (inc GST) the year before and $71,500 (inc GST) in his first two Australian season. Meanwhile, he now stands at Coolmore Ireland for a whopping €300,000 (approx. AU$497,000).
Wodeton looks to be following a similar path to the Waller and Coolmore colts Shinzo (Snitzel) and Switzerland (Snitzel) in their Slipper campaigns of the past two years.
Shinzo debuted on January 28 and had a month before his next run, coming second in the Skyline Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) before winning the Pago Pago (Gr 3, 1200m) and the Slipper.
Switzerland first raced on January 27, had three weeks between each of his first three starts – all wins – before an off day when eighth in the Slipper.
Wodeton’s similar late-January debut may end up proving more of a happy accident than the result of careful planning, however. He may have been contesting Friday night’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic had fate not intervened.
“He was pencilled in to race a couple of weeks after his first trial, but his race got cancelled, so we decided it was a good time to give him a break and focus on the Golden Slipper,” Kennedy said.
“Whether he’d have got to the Magic Millions or not, it’s hard to say, but I have to say Chris Waller has got really good patience in those situations, and I think it’s put the horse into a really good position.
“Rather than keep him in work and put too much work into him they decided to give him a break. It was the right time to do it and he’s come back even stronger.”
Wodeton is the second foal of Listed winner Fiera Vista (Exceed And Excel), who comes from the same family as champion Silent Witness (El Moxie).
Her first foal, Queen Starlight (Zoustar), was a $240,000 buy for Dalziel Bloodstock and Moody Racing, and has won once in eight starts. Following Wodeton’s early signs, Fiera Vista’s colt third foal, by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), was also bought by Coolmore’s Magnier for $1.5 million from the Segenhoe draft at last week’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Kennedy said Wodeton had always shown himself to be cut from the right cloth.
“He’s a good natured horse,” he said. “He was one of those we didn’t hear too much about when he was at the breakers, which is always a good sign. He’s got a good mind, is an easy horse to deal with, and is easy on the eye, which is pretty obvious considering he was a $1.6 million yearling.
“All the ingredients are there, and we’re looking forward to seeing him race.
“We’d just like to see him get into a rhythm and get comfortable running through a line of horses and just getting a really good experience.
“It’s a mental challenge getting them to the Golden Slipper, and the most important thing is they get loads of experience out of their runs heading in there.
“And that’s the great thing about Chris Waller. He understands the game so well, and he’s getting serious results in preparing these two-year-olds to go to war. They’re coming in well conditioned and ready to do their jobs, which is great.”
The signs from Wootton Bassett’s Australian two-year-olds also helped keep him in high demand at last week’s Magic Millions sale, ranking fifth among sires by averages – with his top lot a colt who fetched $1.7 million – after ranking fourth the year before.
“He’s a horse we thought would complement what we were trying to breed down here, not only with our own mares but with some of our bigger clients, and that’s come through. He’s had really good support,” Kenneddy said.
“And I know that at the Magic Millions sale last week, the right people wanted to buy them, and the right people are returning to buy another one. There doesn’t seem to be any negativity about the horse whatsoever; it’s just all enthusiasm.
“Everyone feels they’re very trainable horses who fit their system, so that’s the most important thing.
“We’ve got a couple of other Wootton Bassetts coming through, and there are others in the wings we hear about.”
Kennedy listed among those Ciaron Maher’s Coolmore homebred State Visit, a colt awaiting his first trial who’s “going from strength to strength”, and Angel Eyes, a $200,000 Inglis Easter buy with Team Hayes reportedly showing plenty of ability on the track.
There’s also Royal Air Force, the half-brother to The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Think About It (So You Think), who was bred by Tasmania’s Grenville Stud and bought at last year’s Gold Coast sale by Magnier for $900,000, who’s awaiting his first trial with Waller.
Not only did Wootton Basset have the equal fifth-highest lot at the Gold Coast last year in Wodeton but the $2.1 million sale-topper out of super mare Avantage (Fastnet Rock) who’s now Te Akau’s Avantaggia. Incidentally, that filly had her first barrier trial at Matamata on Tuesday, running seventh.
While Wodeton was odds-on on Friday for his Rosehill debut, the only other runner in the 11-horse field in single figures was fellow debutant Sanctified (Super Seth), who won one Rosehill trial on December 23 before running fifth in another on January 7.
Bred by Jamieson Park, the colt hails from a different end of the sale spectrum to Wodeton, having been bought by trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou for $260,000 from the Inglis Classic sale.
Despite being a Rosehill neighbour of Waller, Ryan said he hadn’t seen Wodeton on the track. He maintains, however, that all horses are equal until they appear in a race.
“Wodeton might be a Winx, I don’t know,” Ryan said. “All I know is what CS Hayes said – just worry about whether your own horse is fit and well.
“I know our bloke has shown good ability. He’s a tractable colt who does everything right. I’m happy with him, but he’s unknown on a wet track.”
That might yet prove the greatest equaliser of all. Rosehill was rated a soft 7 on Friday, but with more rain forecast.