By Tom Frary
In the week that Wootton Bassett was lost, one of his many TDN Rising Stars Dorset demonstrated the void that he will leave for the industry in Saturday's Goffs Million. Fourth in the Vincent O'Brien National Stakes earlier this month, the 17-2 shot had some of the best form in the line-up and was sent to the front by apprentice Jack Cleary before halfway.
Staying on stoutly in the closing stages, the grey relative of Winter secured the prize by 1 1/4 lengths from the Ivan Furtado-trained 28-1 outsider August George (Night Of Thunder), with the winner's stablemate and 5-6 favourite Composing (Wootton Bassett) half a length away in third.
“It's fantastic to win this race. Fair play to Goffs for putting up a pot like this, it's a major incentive to bring a good field and they got well supported today,” stable representative Chris Armstrong said. “His form has been in the book, in fairness, and he's just done a few things wrong. Today we took the hood off him, we thought with it on in the National Stakes the last day he just didn't show his true potential.”
“Jack gave him a lovely ride, he jumped, went forward and got a lovely position,” he added. “In fairness, when he asked him he really knuckled down. He's definitely a Group horse and you'd have to maybe give him a go at the Dewhurst now and see. He's a typical Wootton Bassett, he's all there, he's a strong traveller. Once Jack really asked him at the business end he knuckled down and went away at the finish.”
DORSET scoops the Goffs Million @curraghrace for @Ballydoyle & the @coolmorestud Partners
By the late Wootton Bassett, he sold #GoffsOrby by @TheCastlebridge to @A_C_Elliott pic.twitter.com/ENwjRIkpAs
— Goffs (@Goffs1866) September 27, 2025
Dorset's dam Snowflakes (Galileo) is a full-sister to the aforementioned four-times Group 1-winning 1,000 Guineas and Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Winter and to the Listed scorer and Group 2-placed Lovelier. They descend from the G1 Prix Morny heroine Ancient Regime (Olden Times), in turn a full-sister to the Prix Maurice de Gheest-winning champion sprinter and sire Cricket Ball.
Saturday, Curragh, Ireland
GOFFS MILLION, €1,000,000, Curragh, 9-27, 2yo, 7fT, 1:28.91, yl/sf.
1–DORSET (IRE), 131, c, 2, by Wootton Bassett (GB)
1st Dam: Snowflakes (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Laddies Poker Two (Ire), by Choisir (Aus)
3rd Dam: Break Of Day, by Favorite Trick
TDN Rising Star. (€400,000 Ylg '24 GOFORY). O-Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor & Westerberg; B-Snowflakes Syndicate; T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Jack Cleary. €495,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-1-0, $628,246.
2–August George (Ire), 131, g, 2, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Citadelle (Fr), by Siyouni (Fr). (€90,000 Ylg '24 GOFORY). O-Alfa Site Services Ltd; B-Roundhill Stud; T-Ivan Furtado. €195,000.
3–Composing (Ire), 126, f, 2, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Epona Plays (Ire), by Australia (GB). (€300,000 Ylg '24 GOFORY). O-Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; B-Renzo Forni; T-Aidan O'Brien. €95,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 8.50, 28.00, 0.83.
Also Ran: New Monarch (Ire), Phenomenal Filly (Ire), Take Charge Star (Ire), Stop The Nation (Ire), Jordi Bear (Ire), Advance Twentyfive (Fr), Listentodwindblow (Ire), Green Sense (Ire), Tahcawin (Ire), Mr Seagull (Ire), Maximum Scepticism (Ire), Brownstown (GB), Summer Is Tomorrow (Ire), Punica Granatum (Ire), Spinning Around (Ire), Chicago Pope (Ire), Green Soul (Ire), Chicago Call (Ire), Unbreakable Duke (Ire), Red Earth (Ire), My Corbett Court (Ire), Al Shaham (Ire), Unforgettable Face (Ire), Bofa Beach (GB), Homestrait (Ire), Gharma Sutra (Ire), Glitter And Glory (Ire). Scratched: Krasimir (Ire), Kanishka (Ire), Honouramongthieves (GB).
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