Darling View Thoroughbreds purchase Group 1 winner Royal Patronage
Darling View Thoroughbreds has set the bar high in signing Group 1–winning sprinter Royal Patronage (Wootton Bassett) to stand on their roster for 2026, entering at an introductory fee of $16,500 (inc GST).
All purpose and widely travelled, Royal Patronage was straight into stride during a very successful juvenile campaign in England and he also banked a valuable purse in the bluegrass of Kentucky before transferring to Australia to claim some big scalps in the Canterbury Stakes (Gr 1, 1300m) at Randwick last year.
“I had been keeping a close eye on him since he defeated Amelia’s Jewel in the Tramway Stakes about 18 months ago,” Darling View manager Brent Atwell recalled on Tuesday morning.
“She was flying back then and he was first-up in Australia after a long spell. I thought he would be a perfect fit for WA.”
Royal Patronage had been sent to Australia to be trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and Atwell kept in touch while following his journey out here. He was placed behind Ceolwulf (Tavistock) and Tom Kitten (Harry Angel) in the Epsom Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) at Randwick and returned for a successful elite-level victory in the Canterbury Stakes.
“That was obviously a game-changer and then he had no luck in the Doncaster Mile,” Atwell said.
“That was arguably his best run in Australia. He was caught three and four wide without cover and was only beaten a lip by Stefi Magnetica.
“I didn’t like our chances of buying a Group 1 winner of that calibre especially after his sire Wootten Basset died, but we were able to clinch a stud deal earlier this month. He’s having a break at The Oaks and will fly over in May.”
Royal Patronage was bred by Dr Emma Capon from an Aga Khan family with a pedigree page wrapped around the Sir Michael Stoute-trained English and Irish Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) winner Shahrastani (Nijinsky).
He was sent to Mark Johnston’s yard in the racing hub of Middleham in Yorkshire and broke through in an Epsom nursery prior to making all the running in a highly regarded renewal of the 2021 Acomb Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) at York.
“He ran extra well second time out at Sandown and then showed us what we always thought of him at Epsom,” Johnson said after winning the Acomb for a fifth time.
“Horses who win the Acomb are usually Group 1 horses and hopefully Royal Patronage is one, too.”
Raced by Highclere Thoroughbreds, the next stop for Royal Patronage in an outstanding two-year-old campaign was another front-running victory in the Royal Lodge Stakes (Gr 2, 1m).
He bowled along for Jason Hart until William Buick challenged on favourite Coroebus (Dubawi), with the latter pair looking home before Royal Patronage found another gear meeting the rising ground at Newmarket. He ranged back up and grabbed the Godolphin colt in the final strides to score by a neck.
Coroebus would then frank the form the following year in winning the English 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) back at Newmarket and the prestigious St James’s Palace Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) at Royal Ascot.
“He’s just a really good horse and, when asked, he finds plenty under pressure,” Johnson said.
“The Godolphin team were standing beside me watching the race and with a furlong to go they thought they would win and, at that stage, so did I.
“It’s great when you’ve got a horse who you’re thinking might stay but is showing so much speed early on as well. That’s ideal.”
Hart also gave him a stamp of approval after the Royal Lodge.
“He over-raced in the early stages and really took off with me but in hindsight it probably helped,” Hart said post-race. “This is a good horse and people keep underestimating him. He loves good or faster ground and isn’t short of tactical speed.”
Highclere Thoroughbreds would go on to send Royal Patronage to the USA for a fifth placing behind Classic Causeway (Giant’s Causeway) in the Belmont Derby (Gr 1, 10f) the following season, and their colt paid his way with a narrow victory in the Ballyrankin Purse (1700m) on turf at Keeneland.
Tulloch Lodge co-trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott also took an immediate shine to Royal Patronage when he arrived at Randwick following his 300,000gns purchase by the pair in conjunction with Johnny McKeever at the 2023 Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale.
“He’s an incredible horse to do what he did in his first campaign out here,” Bott said after the Canterbury Stakes.
“I always felt there would be some improvement this time around and we’ve seen that today.”
Royal Patronage raced on a very strong pace in the Canterbury before clocking 33.42s for the final 600 metres to deny Here to Shock (Shocking) by 0.4 lengths.
“It was a very strong Group 1 at weight-for-age and being an entire, that’s going to help his value going forward to a stud career,” Bott said.
“He’s one of the most forward Europeans that we’ve had over here. I thought he might have been better suited once we got him deeper into a prep because a mile is probably his sweet spot but this proves he can sprint really well fresh.”
Regular pilot Tim Clark was also full of praise for Royal Patronage.
“The speed was lovely and he was comfortable the whole way,” Clark said. “He filled me with confidence and I knew when I got into a dogfight late he was going to be there for me. He’s a beautiful horse and this proves he’s right up to the elite level.”
His sire Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) rose from humble beginnings to become one of the world’s leading sires before succumbing to pneumonia aged 17 at Coolmore Australia in September last year.
He stood for €300,000 (approx. AU$493,270) in his final northern hemisphere book following top-level winners Henri Matisse (French 2,000 Guineas), Camille Pissarro (French Derby), Al Riffa (Irish St Leger) and Whirl (Pretty Polly & Nassau Stakes).
His two-year-old Group winners Albert Einstein, Composing, Puerto Rico, Beautify and Nighttime continued the momentum making Wootton Bassett one of last year’s leaders among European juvenile sires.
Royal Patronage will stand at Darling View on a roster headed by WA Champion Sire Playing God (Blackfriars), alongside young bulls Splintex (Snitzel) and Lightsaber (Zoustar). Their fees will be announced next week.