A son of the late Wootton Bassett became the highest-priced yearling in the world this year when bringing 3,800,000gns from Godolphin, bringing their spend to 7,955,000gns as the halfway mark was passed on the opening day of Tattersalls Book 1.

Sheikh Mohammed’s operation saw off the attentions of the Coolmore team, also bidding from outside the ring, for Croom House Stud’s colt, who was bred out of Denis Brosnan’s homebred listed winner and Group 3 performer Loch Lein.