26th February 2006
Stanley Wootton – A Breeder Of Champions
When horse racing is discussed in Australia the name of Stanley Wootton invariably arises.
Stanley Wootton imported to Australia the outstanding sire Star Kingdom and the mare Oceana, which produced one of Australia’s greatest racehorses – Todman.
The son of Dick Wootton, a successful horse trainer both in Australia and England, Stanley Wootton was ‘born into the game.’ Born in Australia he migrated to England and became a successful trainer in his own right.
Stanley Wootton owned a substantial number of racing tracks at Epsom, where some of England’s leading racehorses train. After his success as a trainer he became a very successful owner and breeder. In fact, he has probably done more to influence Australian racing than any other man.
Star Kingdom was brought out from England where he had been about equal top two-year-old of his year. However, his breeding qualities were in doubt because of the failure of Star Kingdom’s sire, Stardust, at stud. Those doubts were soon put to rest as Star Kingdom became the most dominant influence in the history of Australian breeding. Five times champion Australian sire, seven times leading juvenile winner-producer and three times at the head of the broodmare list.
Wootton also brought with him some mares for breeding, one of them being the mare Oceana. It is now history that Oceana’s first foal was Todman, one of the fastest two year old horses ever, winner of the inaugural STC Golden Slipper, the Canterbury Guineas, AJC Champagne Stakes and the VATC Futurity Stakes.
Another foal from Oceana by Star Kingdom was Noholme II, winner of the AJC Champagne Stakes, Epsom Handicap, and the MVRC W.S. Cox Plate, who was later sold to American interests and went on to become an outstanding sire and champion sire of two-year-olds in North America in 1967.
Star Kingdon was one of a number of sires that Wootton exported from England to Australia, two others being Makarpura and Newtown Wonder. Makarpura sired the dam of the Wootton bred Biscay, and Newtown Wonder became a leading sire at Woodlands Stud when it was run by the late George Ryder.
Mr Wootton followed the practice of naming his Australian horses after English place names and his English horses after Australian place names. Todman was an exception and was named after the street, Todman Avenue in Kensington, where Stanley Wootton once lived.
Some of his successful English horses included Coogee, Pyrmont, Ballina and Baramul.
Strangely enough, Mr Wootton was reputed not to be an expert on breeding, but had and exceptional reputation as an outstanding judge of horseflesh. Either way, Stanley Wootton left an insurmountable legacy to the Australian thoroughbred industry.
Another great legacy left by Stanley Wootton in Australia was his thoroughbred breeding and racing loving daughter Catherine Remond. Catherine inherited his mares and also his magic and has continued to breed good horses from their descendants.
Two of these horses are Danehill mare Crevette and her Flying Spur half-sister Pimpinella.
Outstanding broodmare prospects for the future, they are both bred and raced by Mrs Remond using Twiglet, one of the first good fillies she bred following the death of her father in the mid 1980s.
A daughter of Twig Moss and the Wootton bred Bletchingly stakes placed Extradite, Twiglet won five races including the G2 Edward Manifold Stakes and two Listed events.
At stud she has had 13 matings using 11 different sires and resulting in 10 foals and six metropolitan winners headed by the dashing Group 1 winner and sire Easy Rocking and Hong Kong champion Fairy King Prawn.
Stanley Wootton established this family in the Hunter Valley when he sent from the mare Expulsion, by Showdown’s sire Infatuation.
At stud she produced 10 foals including nine fillies, six of which were by Wootton bred and raced sires Todman (3), Bletchingly (2) and Biscay (1).
