Wooded joins Haras de Bouquetot roster (original) (raw)

Al Shaqab’s Haras de Bouquetot in Normandy will welcome Prix de l’Abbaye hero Wooded to its roster for the 2021 breeding season after the Group 1 winner was retired from racing.

Purchased by the operation for €90,000 from the Haras d’Etreham draft at the Arqana October Yearling Sale in 2018, Wooded is a brother to the winning Beat Le Bon.

Sent into training with Francis Graffard, Wooded got off the mark at the second time of asking before finishing a neck behind Kenway in the Group 3 Prix La Rochette. His final start as a two-year-old last year saw him beaten into third in the Group 3 Prix Thomas Byron.

His campaign at three recorded the perfect start when he was an impressive victor of the Group 3 Prix Texanita before finishing fourth to Pinatubo in the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat.

Graddard said: “Wooded stood out from the day he arrived for his good looks and ability and he was very sound, never missing a day’s work.

“In the Group 3 Prix Texanita he announced himself as a potential superstar and we were confident he would go close in the Commonwealth Cup. The difficulties of travelling this year made it impossible for him to run.

“As a racehorse he had so many qualities, class, courage and speed and he fully deserved his Group 1 win this year.”

Al Shaqab’s General Manager Khalifa Al Attiya added: “Wooded has been a very special racehorse to us at Al Shaqab, winning such a prestigious sprint race as the Prix de l’Abbaye at three years old and against much more experienced horses.

“He will now be starting a new exciting career at Haras de Bouquetot, and we feel confident that such a standout sprinter who performed at the highest level with such consistency at two and three will be very well received by the breeders.”

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