Wootton Bassett flying ahead of French 2000 Guineas bid
The Iffraaj colt enjoyed a stellar juvenile year, winning each of his five starts and grabbing Group One glory in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc day.
He missed a clash with Frankel in the English Guineas after failing in a race against time to recover from a minor setback early in the year, but Hanagan believes the two unbeaten colts will lock horns before the year is out.
“He won a Group One at Longchamp last year so he knows the track well and I’m really looking forward to going back there,” said Hanagan.
“I think we’ll meet Frankel along the way somewhere. I don’t know if I’m looking forward to it after watching the Guineas at Newmarket!”
Trainer Richard Fahey feels his star turn is better than ever at the moment and he too is looking ahead to a run against Frankel.
“He’s grown a lot and he’s a lot stronger. When you see a horse winning as a two-year-old as he was you think that’s all they’ll be but this fellow was always going to be a better three-year-old,” Fahey told Sky Sports News.
“He was undefeated at two and I couldn’t be more happy with him at three.
“If we win in France and we’re happy with him then I can see them clashing.”
Wootton Bassett was among 19 left in the race at Tuesday’s forfeit stage.
The field includes David Simcock’s Dream Ahead, Hung Parliament for Tom Dascombe and Imperial Rome for David Wachman.
Godolphin’s French arm have a contender in the shape of the Andre Fabre-trained Modern History.
