Powerhouse new owner sees off Coolmore to secure €1.4 million Wootton Bassett colt
John Stewart is a man on a mission. On Friday that mission saw the US-based owner make his first major impact on the European sales circuit as he struck an online bid of €1,400,000 (approx. AU$2.315 million) to secure the top lot on day one of the Arqana August Sale in Deauville.
The yearling in question is the Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) colt out of Dardiza (Street Cry) offered by Haras d’Etreham. The well-credentialled youngster also landed in the crosshairs of Coolmore, whose MV Magnier filled the role of underbidder.
The colt is a brother to Guildsman, winner of a Kentucky Downs Grade 3 after he transferred to the US after a juvenile campaign with Archie Watson in the UK that included a third-place effort behind Arizona (No Nay Never) in the Coventry Stakes (Gr 2, 6f). There is strength in depth to the pedigree as the mare is a sibling to the dams of six black-type performers, most notably the champion Almanzor (Wootton Bassett). The colt was bred by Barronstown Stud.
Stewart was not in attendance in Deauville, but his representative Gavin O’Connor outlined the appeal of the new recruit.
He said: “He’s a good stamp of a horse for a January foal. He’s a full-brother to Guildsman and there’s a serious amount of quality coming through his broodmare sire Street Cry. You’ve Machiavellian over Halling in the pedigree so it’s a fabulous foundation. There’s Almanzor under the second dam, Darzan, Dabawa, a lot of good, solid horses that have come up numerically to give the pedigree that substance.
“Physically he’s an outstanding horse. We have two beautiful colts out of War Front mares back home on the farm in Kentucky and we’re really high on them; they’re beautiful models. I saw a lot of them in him, and vice versa. He’s a big walker, very elegant and classy. He met the balance that I like to see. He’s stallion prospect material.”
Stewart, who races under the banner of Resolute Racing, has begun making his mark on the track in the US, where Pounce (Lookin At Lucky) and Sweet Rebecca (American Pharoah) have won at stakes level. His colours have also graced the turf in Britain as he races Evade (Wootton Bassett) and Palace Green (Sea The Moon) in partnership with Qatar Racing.
O’Connor said all options remained open for the seven-figure Wootton Bassett colt.
“I have to hear from John before there’s a final plan but we’ll get him in the safest hands as of right now and we’ll make a conclusive plan after that,” he said. “We have all options available, whether John wants to keep him in this region and have a Royal Ascot type for next year or bring him back to the US and try to tackle some of the nice turf races in Keeneland and Saratoga. He’s that calibre of a horse and I’m confident he could do it in both places based on his pedigree.”
Stewart has emerged as a major investor in the global bloodstock market, with his purchases including the likes of dual Breeders’ Cup winner Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper), a $6 million acquisition at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale, where he also secured Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock) and Forte’s (Violence) dam Queen Caroline (Blame) at US$3m apiece.
Stewart’s Resolute Bloodstock brand has signed for 20 yearlings at an outlay of US$10.685m at this year’s North American sales. He also filled the role of underbidder when the filly out of Winx (Street Cry) sold for $10m at the Inglis Easter Sale in Australia earlier this year, while global talent search has also seen him acquire South African horse of the year Princess Calla (Flower Alley) and Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) runner-up Tutta La Vita (The Autumn Sun).
O’Connor indicated Stewart could be active at other major European yearling sales over the coming months.
He said: “This is the premier sale for yearlings in France. John wants the best of the best and if you’re not in it, you can’t win it. We’ve gone through all the horses pretty clinically, we won’t acquire a huge number but the exceptional horse, like this individual, he ticks all the boxes. This is what John wants, this is his vision, he wants the best of the best for Resolute Racing and he wants to make a mark on the industry globally. He’s an incredible individual and we’re all blessed and lucky to be a part of this vision and mission that John has.”
He added: “John’s extremely busy and has a lot going in his world but it’s an honour to be here to represent him and have all the faith and trust he puts in me to try to put all these nice horses in front of him and his fiancee, Chelsey. They’ll sit down and go through the pedigrees and what I’ve passed on with their own mix of choices and we come to a conclusive agreement. It’s a very good dynamic.”
As well as his rapidly expanding bloodstock portfolio, Stewart also purchased what was previously Shadwell’s Shadayid Stud in Midway, Kentucky. Subsequently renamed Resolute Farm, the property is now home to Stewart’s burgeoning broodmare and youngstock.
“We closed on the farm only in late December in 2023 and there’s now 120 horses on the stud,” said O’Connor. “We also have over 40 horses in training.
“John is very precocious and very decisive in his decision making. When we get together as a team and we all come together on a horse, it’s not a case of, ‘I like it for a price’, he wants to take the horses we can’t leave the sales ground without. That’s his mission.”
Blandford in business
The second-top lot came late in the piece when Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock went to €850,000 (approx. AU$1.405m) for the Night Of Thunder (Dubawi) half-brother to the Group 3-winning and Group 1-placed Beauvatier (Lope De Vega) offered by Ecurie des Monceaux.
Brown’s buying activities have been a key plotline in the emergence of Wathnan Racing but the agent was unable to confirm whose colours the colt would be carrying.
He said: “I can’t say who he’s for but we had a very short list for today and he was the colt we wanted.”
The page has received some noteworthy recent updates as Prix la Rochette (Gr 3, 1400m) winner Beauvatier was last seen finishing third to Lazzat (Territories) in the Prix Maurice de Gheest (Gr 1, 1300m), while the pair’s Siyouni (Pivotal) half-sister Lhakpa made an impressive winning debut at Deauville just three days ahead of the sale.
“I’m a huge fan of Night Of Thunder and the mare is really doing it,” continued Brown. “Beauvatier was a top-class two-year-old who’s trained on and the sister looks like she could be pretty smart. She’s won and I’ve been told she’s going straight to the Prix Marcel Boussac.
“There’s no plan at the moment but he’ll go back to Britain and be sent to Malcolm Bastard for breaking and pre-training.”
Facts and figures
Day one’s turnover and median stats were broadly similar to those registered 12 months earlier, although the average price and clearance rate lagged behind the figures recorded at that record-breaking renewal.
The day’s aggregate was €21,712,000 (approx. AU$35.91m), which was down five per cent year-on-year, while the median closed at €226,165 (approx. AU$374,100), down two per cent. The average price dropped by 26 per cent to €137,500 (approx. AU$227,400), while the clearance rate was 72 per cent, having been 84 per cent at corresponding point in 2023. From 133 offered lots, 96 found a buyer.