The Coolmore Shuttle stallion Wootton Bassett (GB) was the sire of his first Australian Youth Champion Palace (Off) improved by 2 3/4 lengths in the Shinzo@Coolmore Plate 1000m at Randwick on Saturday (video).
Trained by Michael Freedman and ridden by Tommy Berry, the bay broke away from the fence at the 400m mark, separated his rivals within the 300m mark and sailed past the public's choice 3-1 Chergui (Aus) (Frosted) on the 100 meter pole to win away. The colt now shares the co-favorite award for the G1 Golden Slipper with G3 Gimcrack Stakes winner Bel Merci (Aus) (Extreme Choice {Aus}).
“We've had a good opinion of him for some time and he was very professional from the first day we hired him,” said Michael Freedman. “He has a great temperament, just the perfect 2-year-old type, and I trained him with an older horse earlier this week and he more than held his own and I thought if he brings that to the races, he will You see the best of him.”
The colt, homebred by Anthony Gow Gates, joins his father's 42 youth winners at the 2024 Northern Hemisphere. They were the first farm animals bred at Coolmore Stud in Ireland. Among them are 13 stakes winners and 10 group winners. These include four Group 1 winners: Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Henri Matisse (Irish), Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Camille Pissarro (Irish), Criterium de Saint-Cloud Tennessee Stud scorer (Irish) and the Criterium International winner Twain (Irish).
Freedman added of the Wootton Bassett offspring he looks after: “We have a few at home and they have great constitution and temperament.”
“Earlier in the week I said to someone that they reminded me of their time at the Danehills, that they had this relaxed and easy-going temperament, and there's a bit of chatter about that with a few other coaches who said the same thing.”
The son of listed Talindert Stakes winner Anevay (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) is her fifth winner. Anevay herself is a half-sister of G2 Todman Stakes hero Krupt (Aus) (Flying Spur {Aus}) and the dam of stakes winner Poifect (Aus) (Pierro {Aus}). Fit To Lead (Fit To Fight), a five-time U.S. stakes winner, also finished second in the G1 Hollywood Oaks.
Palladon comes from the first Southern Hemisphere-bred crop from Wootton Bassett, who splits his time between Coolmore Stud in Ireland and Coolmore Australia in Jerry Plains, NSW.
This is a HUGE win for Pallaton in Randwick! 🙌@MFreedmanRacing | @TommyBerry21 | @aus_turf_club | @CoolmoreAus pic.twitter.com/txZneOdLTi
– SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 21, 2024
