FURTHER delight for the Coolmore team was generated when Wooded joined Almanzor and Audarya and became the third Group winner for his sire Wootton Bassett, scoring a victory in the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp and adding to a previous success in the Group 3 Prix Texanita at Chantilly. This €90,000 yearling purchase by Al Shaqab Racing is now a three-time winner.

Wooded was bred by Gestüt zur Küste, foaled in Ireland, and is the second foal from the Elusive City (Elusive Quality) mare Frida La Blonde who was placed a few times in France. Her first produce was Wooded’s full-brother Beat Le Bon (Wootton Bassett) and this €100,000 yearling and three-time winner was runner-up this year in the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes in England. Frida La Blonde’s fourth offspring is a yearling filly by Intello (Galileo) who has been withdrawn from the upcoming Arqana Yearling Sale.

Frida La Blonde’s seven winning siblings include her dual stakes-winning own-brother Fred Lalloupet (Elusive City), listed winner and group-placed Mon Pote Le Gitan (Thunder Gulch), and the winning dam of three-time stakes winner Maximum Aurelius (Showcasing). Their dam was the French listed winner Firm Friend (Affirmed) who was runner-up in the Group 2 Italian 1000 Guineas.

While Wooded’s half-sister misses her date with the Arqana auctioneers in a few weeks, Group 1 winner Wonderful Tonight’s half-brother from the first crop by Recorder (Galileo) is catalogued as Lot 170. He is part of Anna Sundstrom’s Coulonces Sales draft and this latest victory for his half-sister will focus added attention on him.

Private sale

A €40,000 private transaction by David Menuisier at Arqana two years ago, Wonderful Tonight is now a three-time winner in France and was also successful in the Group 3 Prix Minerve at Deauville. Her victory on Saturday in the Prix de Royallieu at ParisLongchamp took her winnings to over £140,000 and provided her sire Le Havre (Noverre) with his fifth Group 1 winner. She is the second stakes winner, after Penjade (Air Chief Marshal), for their Montjeu (Sadler’s Wells) winning dam Salvation. She in turn is a half-sister to Grade 3 Santa Anita winner Hostess (Iffraaj) who sold for 725,000gns last December at Tattersalls. This is the family of dual Derby winner Camelot, also a son of Montjeu.