Ridgmont Rewarded with $1.2million Wootton Bassett Colt

Tara Madgwick - Monday April 7

Mitch Cunningham of Ridgmont is still on a high after winning last Saturday’s $4million Group I ATC Doncaster Mile with Stefi Magnetica and his week just got better when a Wootton Bassett (GB) colt from Egyptian Missile sold for $1.2million at Inglis Easter to give the Hunter Valley nursery it’s first million dollar yearling.

$1.2million Wootton Bassett (GB) colt from Egyptian Missile.

Strongly built and very athletic with a real Wootton Bassett look to him, the colt is the first foal of Egyptian Missile, a three-time winning half-sister by Smart Missile to Group III winner Egyptian Symbol from Group I winner Our Egyptian Raine.

He is the second million dollar colt by Wootton Bassett purchased at this sale by Tom Magnier joining the colt from Upfront (USA) that sold for $1.4million earlier in the day.

Mitch Cunningham was delighted with the result and has plenty of faith in his sire Wootton Bassett.

“It feels enormous. The staff at the farm work so hard and we've got a great relationship with Coolmore, so seeing them buy the horse, obviously they know the most about Wootton Basset and he was clearly a quality colt,” said Cunningham.

“It really vindicates our decision to breed the mare to him. We've got a lot of pregnancies to him and we've got a lot of Wootton Bassett foals on the ground.

Advertisement

“We've really believed in him, we had a great result at Classic with another Wootton Basset (colt from Monegal that sold for $400,000). He's an enormous stallion and hopefully one for the future, but a result like that is just huge for the farm.”

Mitch Cunningham is a big fan of Wootton Bassett (GB).

Ridgmont sourced Egyptian Missile through Inglis Digital for $230,000 on the advice of Bjorn Baker, who trained the mare and also prepares Stefi Magnetica. Interestingly, Egyptian Missile and Stefi Magnetica were both and sold bred by Cressfield, again cementing their standing as an elite nursery that produces those sought after investment fillies for the future.

“Bjorn Baker gave us the inside word that basically she had a lot of unrealised potential and she's from that extraordinary Egyptian Raine family and there are very few better families in the Studbook,” Cunningham said.

“She's beautiful and the mating with Wootton Basset, who is such a beautiful stallion was perfect, so we're so delighted with the result.”

Egyptian Missile produced a filly by so You Think last spring was then covered by Home Affairs.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Philia Highlights Oaks Claims With Tenacious The Roses Win
Successful last time out in the Listed Princess Stakes when becoming the 30th stakes winner for her sire All Too Hard, the David Vandyke trained Philia went four from four this time in, leading through to win the Group 2 The Roses (2000m) at Doomben.
Precious Cargo
Sometimes it’s not so much about the mare, it’s more about the stallion she’s in foal to and what the overall package looks like.
Stakes performers offered on gavelhouse.com
The latest fortnightly auction on gavelhouse.com offers buyers a golden opportunity to add black-type performance to their broodmare band.
Sires With Winners - Saturday May 24
Here is the full list of 102 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Quality Weanling Colts Quartet from Vinery
The Magic Millions National Weanling Sale is on this Sunday and Vinery Stud aren’t wasting time bringing anything to the Gold Coast other than quality with a select draft of four that includes one of only two colts in the sale by champion sire Zoustar.
More Sejardan Weanlings for MM National
Blue Gum Farm’s fast Group II winning Sebring son Sejardan made his presence felt in a big way at the recent Inglis Australian Weanling Sale for a stallion that stood first season at a fee of just $13,750.
Brisbane Possible for Resurgent Velocious
Group One winner Velocious bounced back to her brilliant best in the Jarvis Trading (1100m) at Te Rapa on Saturday, raising the possibility of a trans-Tasman mission.
Mixed Fortunes for Aussie Connected Sprinters
There were two important sprint races run overnight in the UK and Ireland and both had key runners with strong Australian interest in Zoustar mare Mgheera and the former Waterhouse  Bott trained colt Storm Boy.
One To Watch - Belmont
The Belmont meeting in Perth was abandoned on Saturday after just five races, but that was enough time for punters to get a look at a two year-old by Too Darn Hot (GB) that is the last foal of a sensational WA blue hen who sadly passed away last year.
Almanzor Keeps Winners Coming for Moody- Coleman
The Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman-trained Roadcone led his rivals a merry dance when winning the Stow Storage Solutions Handicap (1600m) at Sandown on Saturday, bringing up a treble for the stable and jockey Luke Cartwright.