A sire of rare versatility Wootton Bassett (GB) made his mark at Royal Ascot on Day 2 when his unbeaten three year-old colt Carmers made it three wins from as many starts in the Group II Queen’s Vase (1m6f).
Trained by Paddy Twomey, Carmers won his debut in early May then won a Listed race at Navan to earn a shot at Ascot.
Ridden by Billy Lee, Carmers ran the trip strongly to win by three-quarters of a length and is a promising young stayer.
“I knew Carmers would stay and I knew turning in Billy [Lee] looked comfortable and I was happy to see the horse come outside him and just not have him at the front and that he was able to get a breather into him round the bottom,” said Paddy Twomey.
“He looked comfortable when the bell rang and I was thinking we had a chance. I think staying is his game and he's a pretty good horse. He's done everything we've asked of him and he will have an entry in the St Leger at Doncaster and we'll see, he's done what we've asked him to do today; he's run three times and won three times and hopefully he'll continue doing it.”
Bred and raced by Fiona Carmichael, Carmers is the first winner from blueblood Sea the Stars mare Signe, a half-sister to Group I winners Lord Shanakill, Forever Together and Together Forever, the dam of 2024 European Horse of the Year City of Troy, who will stand at Coolmore Australia this spring at a fee of $49,500.
Carmers is the first winner at Royal Ascot this year for Wootton Bassett, who will be back at Coolmore Australia this spring with his fee set at $385,000.
