The late Wootton Bassett (GB) has two well credentialed first season sires in Australia this spring on opposite sides of the country in Wodeton and Royal Patronage (Fr) and sired his 92nd stakes-winner worldwide overnight with new 2YO SW Sergei Diaghilev.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by Wayne Lordan, Sergei Diaghilev bounced back from an unplaced run at Royal Ascot after winning on debut at the Curragh in May.
Stepped out to 1m for the first time in the Listed Coolmore Stud Churchill Stakes at Gowran Park, Sergei Diaghilev was strong to the line winning by three-quarters of a length.
“I've ridden Sergei Diaghilev plenty at home, very straightforward colt, he travels with pace, but we always felt that going up to this trip would see the best of him,” said Wayne Lordan.
“He's improving, he's stepping forward, and I think he's going to step forward again from today.”
The colt holds entries for several upcoming Group races.
Bred and raced by the Coolmore partners, Sergei Diaghilev is a full brother to stakes-winner Endorsement and is from an unraced sister to Group I winner Johannes Vermeer, Group II winner Elizabeth Browing and SW Sapa Inca.
In 2026, Wootton Bassett has sired 22 stakes-winners worldwide headed by Group I winners Constitution River, Comanche Brave and Providence.
New to stud for Wootton Basset in Australia this spring is fast and precocious Wodeton, who stands at Newgate Farm at a fee of $16,500.
Beaten half a head in the Golden Slipper he was the highest rated 2YO colt of his generation.
Standing at Darling View Thoroughbreds in WA is stunning looking Group I winner Royal Patronage (Fr), who joined the Waterhouse Bott stable as a tried horse from Europe and quickly made his mark here as an elite sprinter miler.
A Group II winner in the UK, he won the Group I ATC Canterbury Stakes (1300m) last year and was also placed in the G1 Doncaster Mile and Epsom Handicap.
Royal Patronage also stands at $16,500.
