Leading stallion Wootton Bassett has sadly passed away this week while in Australia.

The stallion succumbed to acute pneumonia, according to reports. Despite round-the-clock veterinary care, he could not be saved.

Although he was 17, he was certainly not young, but there was still hope that he would be able to continue producing top-quality racehorses for several years.

A humble start, wowing a two-year-old career on the track, and then becoming elite within the Coolmore breeding ranks, it’s been a busy, productive, and enjoyable 17 years for him, that is for sure.

Racing Days Under Richard Fahey

Wootton Bassett was bred by Laundry Cottage Stud and purchased for £46,000 as a yearling by Bobby O’Ryan.

Trained by Richard Fahey for Frank Brady & The Cosmic Cases, he made an immediate impact as a two-year-old. He was undefeated in five starts, including a dominant victory in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère in 2010.

That Group 1 win elevated him to champion juvenile status in France, and it was Richard Fahey’s first-ever Group 1 success.

But as a three-year-old in 2011, Wootton Bassett never recaptured that brilliance. He failed to win that season, and attempts at classic distances and sprint distances both left him out of the winner’s enclosure.

Ultimately, he was retired and sent to the breeding barn, a move that would become the defining chapter of his legacy, and no one really expected it. His life after racing will be remembered as better than what he had during it, not bad considering he was a Group One winner and unbeaten as a two-year-old.

The Stallion Who Rose from Humble Beginnings

What makes Wootton Bassett’s story so compelling is how modest his early stud career looked.

He began at Haras d’Etreham with a fee as low as €6,000, and in a couple of years, even lower, with small books of mares.

At first glance, his path looked unremarkable. But then one of his first crops produced Almanzor, a champion three-year-old who won the Prix du Jockey Club, the Irish Champion Stakes and the Champion Stakes. That breakthrough changed perception.

Once Coolmore acquired him in 2020, Wootton Bassett’s career truly exploded. He covered large books, commanded high fees, and sired an array of black-type horses and Group 1 winners.

His two-year-old crop in Europe produced names such as Camille Pissarro and Henri Matisse, and he also sired Whirl, King of Steel, and Al Riffa, among others.

At the time of his death, his progeny had amassed earnings of over £28.6 million.

His 2025 European stud fee was a lofty €300,000, making him one of the most expensive stallions on the continent, only behind Dubawi and Frankel.

What is staggering is how often breeders trusted him with top mares, year after year, and they were rewarded.

His sons and daughters will continue to carry his name, but he will no longer generate new foals. The remaining crops are the last we’ll see of him. Let’s hope there are a few good ones amongst them to send him off with a bang.