The record for a yearling colt sold in Europe was smashed at Tattersalls on Thursday when a Wootton Bassett colt sold for 4,300,000gns.
The price, driven by a heated clash between Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing and the Coolmore team, eclipsed the previous high of 3,600,000gns set jointly by Sir Isaac Newton and Noble Dynasty in 2013 and 2019.
The colt was widely expected to play a leading role in Thursday’s proceedings, an idea that was backed up when auctioneer Alastair Pin opened the bidding at 500,000gns. From then on, Joorabchian, standing in his usual position under the window with his back to the rostrum, and M V Magnier, bidding to Shirley Anderson-Jolag outside, traded fast-moving blows. Every bid from outside, however, was met with a rapid response from Joorabchian and at 4.4 million guineas, the Coolmore team cried enough to leave the colt’s future in the Amo purple and white.
Barely does a Book 1 sale pass by when the Burns family’s Lodge Park Stud doesn’t play a leading role, usually thanks to its outstanding Park Express line, and indeed this colt’s valuation falls only second in the pantheon of top European prices to his close relation Al Naamah, who commanded 5 million guineas from Al Shaqab Racing in 2013. Dam Park Bloom is a Galileo sister to Al Naamah as well as the Oaks heroine Was, Derby third Amhran Na Bhfiann and Group 3 winner Douglas Macarthur. They are out of the Listed-placed Alluring Park, a Green Desert half-sister to New Approach out of champion Park Express.
He is the third foal out of Park Bloom, whose second foal, a filly by Dubawi, topped last year’s Book 2 at 725,000gns.
“It’s a colossal price but I think it you wanted to paint a horse, you would try to paint him,” said agent Alex Elliott. “He’s come from a great farm that have had the family for so many generations and he was the most spectacular horse.
“I said to Kia when we showed him the horse, ‘Kia you’ve been second in two Derbys [with King Of Steel and Mojo Star], there’s every chance this horse could win you the race’. From that moment, Kia locked on with Mr Marinakis. The whole team, myself, Ben McElroy, Robson Aguiar – we all loved the horse. There wasn’t a horse on the grounds like him. Fair play to Kia and Mr Marinakis for what they are doing. And well done for the Burns family for producing a horse like that – that’s from their father Seamus right down to the team now, there’s so many people involved with producing him.”
Amo, of course, have reason to look particularly fondly upon Wootton Bassett given two of their best horses, King Of Steel and Bucanero Fuerte, are sons of the Coolmore stallion.
“King Of Steel is the best horse that Kia has had,” said Elliott, who signed for the strapping grey at Keeneland back in 2021. “Wootton Bassett is one of the elite stallions of the world and there’s every chance that this horse could be one for the stallion shed.”
Not only did the Burns family cultivate this family going back to Park Express, winner of the Phoenix Champion Stakes for Seamus Burns and Jim Bolger, but they also had a hand in the background of Wootton Bassett via Park Appeal, the granddam of Iffraaj.
“I wasn’t expecting that but he’s a beautiful horse from a family that’s always done us well,” said Jamie Burns, fresh from leading the colt round the ring himself. “Hopefully he’ll go on to enhance the pedigree further. It was a bit surreal – the emotion takes over, it’s pretty special.
“We’ve had the pedigree four generations back and then Park Appeal in Iffraaj’s pedigree, and that’s quite special. He never turned a hair all week and all credit to the team at home, they did a great job.”
“He was a stunning horse and very well done to the Burns family,” said underbidder MV Magnier. “We were very sorry not to get the horse but he made a lot of money and I hope he’s good for Kia and the team.
“It’s incredible. Wootton Bassett is flying. He had another very good winner for Juddmonte only last night [Detain]. He’s got ten stakes-winning 2yos. He’s the perfect outcross for all those Galileo mares but he seems to work with anything.”
The purchase caps a major week of spending for Amo Racing who hit the headlines in a major way on Tuesday when going to 4.4 million guineas for the Frankel filly out of Aljazzi and 2.5 million guineas for the Frankel sister to Alpinista.
