Amelia Park homebred Bassett Hound owns a big-race pedigree and his first-up win at Ascot on Saturday suggests he also has the wherewithal to match black-type expectations during a summer campaign.
Bassett Hound (4g Wootton Bassett – Bound Copy by Street Cry) completed a Belmont hat-trick during a winter prep for trainer Mitch Pateman and he resumed with an authoritative half-length victory as a short-priced favourite in the Liquor Barons Hcp (1000m).
The lightly-raced gelding settled last bar one in running and was still spotting the leaders a fair margin into the straight before Pat Carbery set him alight to overhaul Like Clockwork (Extreme Choice) in the closing stages.
“It was a bit nerve-racking even though I knew he was right to go today,” Pateman admitted. “It’s the best he’s been by a long way. He didn’t overdo it and I was happy at the 600m. He will keep improving and the owners are in for a fun ride.”
Bassett Hound (Photo / Western Racepix) will go around in another rating race before the LR Colonel Reeves Stakes (1100m) on November 14. A black-type win would see him continue to firm for the G1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) on November 28.
Saturday’s result saw him shorten from $15 into $9 with Ladbrokes for the weight-for-age Winterbottom Stakes worth $1.5 million.
Bassett Hound races for a partnership managed by Amelia Park owner Peter Walsh and his current stats read 4 wins from 7 starts with prizemoney of $199,000 boosted by $51,000 in Westspeed Bonuses.
He’s a son of former Coolmore Stud shuttler Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) and Amelia Park purchased his USA-bred dam Bound Copy (Street Cry) through Astute Bloodstock’s Louis Le Metayer for 45,000gns (AUD 89,000) at the 2018 Tattersalls July Sale. Her latest foal is 2yo filly Queen Marine (Marine One) that’s been syndicated by Belhus Racing principal Peter Morley and is with trainer Michael Lane at Boyanup.
Bound Copy has Australian links through her dam In A Bound (Ashkalani) who won a G2 Queen of the Turf Stakes at Rosehill before being exported in 2007. Her second-dam Bounding Away (Biscay) was Australia’s Champion 2YO in 1986 for owner-breeder Tommy Smith.
