10 Nov 2018In what will be a big boost for New Zealand connections of Almanzor, his sire Wootton Bassett has had his 2019 fee raised from E$20,000 (NZ$33,673) to E$40,000 (NZ$67,347) this year. With two Group 1 three-year-olds and a number of other stakes performers, he has been a revelation in France during the 2018 racing season. The consideration to raise his fee came from the fact that this year’s three-year-olds were from a crop of just 43 foals and he has significant representation coming through after that.
Haras d’Etreham principal Nicolas de Chambure said in an interview that Wootton Bassett had sold very well at the sales in addition to his racecourse success and there was a lot of interest in him for next year. His best son, Almanzor, has successfully covered 140 mares in the Northern Hemisphere this year and is well into the breeding season at Cambridge Stud, where he is covering a full book of 140 again.
“He is a great horse to do anything with, very relaxed in the environment at Cambridge and very fertile.” said Cambridge Stud CEO Henry Plumptre. “ We have been delighted with the support for him from both shareholders and breeders who took nominations. The interest in him really took off when he was available for inspection. He is a great looking horse, very correct and athletic and offers a race record that earned him a Timeform rating of 133 in 2016. We are naturally delighted for Nicolas and Haras d’Etreham that Wootton Bassett has taken off because it underpins our faith in Almanzor and the support we have received from New Zealand breeders.”