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he Irish bred son of Wootton Bassett in Wooded is one of Victoria’s new stallions for 2022. Standing at Swettenham Stud, he becomes the first son of that stallion to stand in the State. Wootton Bassett himself is now shuttling to Coolmore in NSW, while his son Almanzor stands in New Zealand. We have featured both of these stallions in the past, and we wonder whether Victoria might be the place where this line established itself in the Southern Hemisphere.
WOODED A NEW LINE IN VICTORIA
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ooded started his career in July of his NH 2yo season, running second by a short neck to a colt called Derbyism at Dieppe. The seven furlong (1400m) event was to be that colt’s only win. At his next start, Wooded won over the same distance at Deauville before again running second, this time in a Group 3 race by a short neck behind Kenway at Longchamp. At his final start for the season, also over 7 furlongs, Wooded was to run third in the Group 3 Thomas Bryon at Saint Cloud behind the Darley pair in King’s Command and Royal Crusade. Wooded returned as a 3yo to win the G3 Prix Texanita at Chantilly over 6 furlongs winning by 3.5 lengths in May. His next start was not until July when he ran fourth behind the star colt, Pinatubo in the G1 Prix Jean Prat over 7 furlongs at Deauville. A sixth behind
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e have spoken about the sire of Wooded at length in previous discussions, so will not further detail the pedigree of this son of Iffraaj. Wooded is a son of Frida La Blonde by Elusive City, a son of Elusive Quality who also shuttled to NZ as did Iffraaj. Her full sibling Fred Lalloupet was a multiple Listed winner in France, while a half-brother in Mon Pote Le Gitan by Thunder Gulch also won at that level. It is also the family of the champion Italian 3yo Miler, Maximum Aurelius by Showcasing.
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another Darley horse, Space Blues, in the G1 Maurice de Gheest over 6.5 furlongs followed by a surprise defeat by Air De Valse in the G3 Petit Couvert at Longchamp at his first start over 5 furlong. It was then to his finest moment when he won the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines beating Glass Slippers by a neck. This was his final start and he retired with a record of three wins from nine starts but suffered defeat only once at 1200m or less which may be an important factor in his long term success at stud especially in the Southern Hemisphere. He goes to stud with the claim of being the fastest son of Wootton Bassett.
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ow then do we measure the performance of horses like Wooded against our 2yo’s? It is a difficult question and one we can ponder without any possibility of coming up with a viable answer. Race performance is no measure of breeding success, and their own aptitude, while perhaps being an indicator as to the type they may produce, plays little role in their future apart from breeders presupposing what might happen. If they get it wrong, they usually blame the horse in any case. In the case of Wooded, it becomes an intriguing question because we saw the colt return as a 3yo to only once start over 1400m. His Group 1 victory was to come over 5 furlongs or 1000m which may just suggest that his connections totally got the horse
e often talk about female lines with a view to the Bruce Lowe family numbers, and these can sometimes be something of a guide to success of stallions. After all, there are such things as stallion families. Wooded comes from the 22b family which is represented in Australia at present by sires like Peltzer and Under The Louvre. It is also the family of Melbourne Cup winner, Green Moon and a sire called Magic Ring who shuttled to Australia in the 1990’s where he produced seven stakes winners including Baal Yabba, Spellmaker and Stella Maree. Magic Ring in fact is out of a full sister to the third dam of Wooded. This does raise an interesting point as to how we get such different types in a family from a Melbourne Cup winner to a pure sprinting type. Then again, we can have full siblings that have different aptitudes such are the vagaries of genetic expression. More importantly in a discussion on Wooded is the European type of 2yo. We saw Wooded place twice at Group 3 level as a 2yo, but he raced exclusively over 1400m. Oddly in Australia we would see a 2yo that prefers 1400m as a potential staying type, and of course the 1400 and 1600m of the last two legs of the Triple Crown are usually the first and only time we see some of our top 2yo’s race over these distances. Often it is the only times in their careers that they extend past 1200m.
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W ooded’s pedigree has three of the four main sire lines tracing to Raise A Native, and two of these through Mr Prospector and his son Gone West. This must be another flag for breeders who need to use caution when adding additional lines of these influences. Having expressed the need for caution, we must also recognise that there are times when multiple lines of stallions can have positive effects. One stallion we see that stands in Victoria is Anacheeva, a son of Anabaa
reasons for digressing into type was that Wooded will no doubt be considered by many broodmare owners who have Danehill line mares. Standing in Victoria, Wooded will also have access to perhaps more of the stoutly bred sons of Danehill than had he been in the Hunter. Victoria has seen the likes of Desert King and Gonski who are probably a little different to the speedier sons like Fastnet Rock, Exceed And Excel and even Redoute’s Choice we saw in NSW. It is those that will make the biggest impact on Wooded’s future no doubt as we see more of these quality mares in broodmare bands across Australia. It is hard to suggest that Wooded will be better off suited by the speedier Exceed And Excel type daughters or the more classic types that you often find in some of the Redoute’s Choice and Fastnet Rock mares. Again it will come down to the other influences in a pedigree and it is those that will make or break the stallion. Caution must certainly be taken though as we see two male lines of Danzig in the pedigree of the stallion. When additional multiple lines appear in the pedigree of a mare, the Danehill factor may not prove the success that is hoped.
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wrong. One may suspect that had he raced over the shorter trips as a 2yo, his record may have been vastly improved. Should we consider Wooded as a 1000m type, or more of the miler type that it is fair to suggest that many of the Wootton Bassett’s are? Time will only tell, but it is likely going to affect the types of mares that he will be
W ooded represents most likely a real challenge for the astute breeder. There will be a good range of mares that will suit the stallion, perhaps even more than had he stood in NSW. However there are plenty of risks that go along with his pedigree and we see that there are risks with introducing some of the popular lines. The reward though for breeders who are willing to do their homework on the stallion’s pedigree may well find great success across a range of types that are often much more at home in Melbourne than any other Australian capital. While a Melbourne Cup winner is probably a step too far, Wooded could certainly be a source of good 2yo’s, and he certainly appeals as a stallion that may well produce quality 3yo’s that may be aimed at Guineas type races. On type, he will certainly have some attractive offspring and it will come down to the right support to see if Victorian breeders can take advantage of this exciting opportunity.
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who was a wonderful French racehorse who also won the July Cup in England. In turn Anabaa was a son of Danzig, but if we look at daughters of Anacheeva with Wooded, they would bring in additional lines of Gay Mecene. That stallion raced in France, and the son of Vaguely Noble traced to the excellent mare Missy Baba who was responsible for lines that gave us horses like AP Indy, Foxhound, Bite The Bullet and Lemon Drop Kid. Not only this, but Anacheeva would also bring in a male line of the son of Northern Dancer in The Minstrel who was a three quarter brother to Nijinsky. In Victoria, it should not be forgotten that Bel Esprit sees Nijinsky in his sire line. The pedigree of Wooded has such richness of lines that these remarkable opportunities exist for the astute breeder who is willing to delve a little deeper into the substance of the stallion’s pedigree.
WOODED (11.72%) is again one of our more inbred pedigrees. The feature is the same sex cross of Gone West whose line has had mixed success at stud locally. It is however an important line internationally and recognised as an Intermediate/ Classic influence. His sons have often had an ability to get progeny that perform over a range of distances and the local stallion, Sepoy is probably a good example of these types. Male lines of Raise A Native, Danzig and Northern Dancer are likely stumbling blocks, but we see a female line of Mr Prospector, albeit when this stallion is pushed back to the sixth generation. We also see three lines of Secretariat although this stallion is almost exclusively found through daughters.
