Picture of Success

When you decide to go all in on a new stallion, you need to be prepared for a long wait until you see the full picture resulting from your actions begin to emerge and you live in hope that it looks something like this.

US Bloodhorse website compiles some excellent sire lists and one of the most interesting is their Euro based sires that take in all Euro results, so not just GB and Ireland, but France as well.

Leading Euro based sires by earnings for all of Europe in 2025 – Click for the full table with all in depth stats at Bloodhorse.

When Coolmore decided to acquire Wootton Bassett (GB) from France in 2020 and give him the chance of a lifetime to go from being a good sire to a great one it took a leap of faith and ongoing commitment to weather the intervening years.

Wootton Bassett was already on the ascent when he moved to Ireland, but the with the first mares covered at Coolmore headquarters in 2021 resulting in foals that are now three year-olds, the proof of this calculated gamble is there for all to see.

Wootton Bassett is the leading European based sire for all European racing with his 27 stakes-winners one ahead of Dubawi and two ahead of Night of Thunder, while his tally of eight Group I winners is double that of Frankel, who is the next best on four.

A dozen of those stakes-winners are those three year-olds coming from that first Coolmore conceived crop and they are highlighted by dual G1 winning filly Whirl, along with G1 winning colts Camille Pissarro, Henri Matisse, Maranoa Charlie and Sahlan, the first two now on the Coolmore Ireland roster for 2026.

His juveniles have also set the benchmark high with 53 individual winners this year that include nine stakes-winners headed by G1 winning colts Puerto Rico and Hawk Mountain.

Just when the Wootton Bassett juggernaut was hitting top gear, tragedy struck when the stallion became ill and died in Australia on September 23, just three weeks into his fifth Southern Hemisphere breeding season.

Wootton Bassett has yearlings to be offered at the sales in 2026 starting with 20 at Magic Millions, plus a full crop of foals that have arrived this spring and some people might be lucky enough to have a mare in foal to him right now.

Coolmore have confirmed some of their very best mares have scanned in foal to Wootton Bassett and they include: Amelia’s Jewel, Cést Magique, Clean Energy, Learning To Fly, Shout The Bar, Sunlight and Tiz Invincible.

Amongst these mares are the dams of both of the most expensive yearlings sold in Australia in 2025.

Shout The Bar topped Inglis Easter with her Home Affairs colt selling for $3million and Sunlight topped Magic Millions with her Home Affairs filly selling for $3.2million.

Wootton Bassett might no longer be with us, but his legacy is here to stay.