Sargent eyes Percy Sykes Stakes for promising young filly Wootton Lass

Eager viewers had their eyes on $3 million 2024 Easter Inglis Classic Yearling buy Ernaux at Kensington on Wednesday. However, it was John Sargent’s Wootton Lass that stole the show.

The two-year-old filly beat out Chris Waller’s Ernaux, one of betting sites favourites, and seven other promising youngsters in the Victor Ludorum First Yearlings Handicap.

Sargent now says he has big plans for his rising star Wootton Lass, including the Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes at Randwick on April 12.

Win sparks bold plan

As impressive as Wootton Lass’ win was on Wednesday, it wasn’t a massive upset.

The betting apps gave the young filly $6.50 odds to win at Kensington. The favourite, Scrumptious (5), was listed at $3.20 chances, while the highly-rated Ernaux was given $4 chances.

With all that being said, we don’t think anyone expected Wootton Lass to be contending for a black-type race so soon. However, that’s what Sargent says she’s going to do.

“Probably the Percy Sykes,” the trainer said, when asked about his plans for Wootton Lass after Wednesday’s race.

“We’ll go there, see if we can get some black-type for the owner, and then give her a break,” he added.

Bounce back performance

One of the reasons we are so surprised to see Wootton Lass in the running for a Group 2 race already is because of just how poor her first ever start was.

The daughter of Wootton Bassett finished in an abysmal 10th place in the Sweet Embrace Stakes on March 1. She was over seven lengths behind the winner, Bjorn Baker’s Within The Law.

Despite this poor run, Sargent says he remained confident about Wootton Lass’ quality.

“I thought she was good enough to go first-up into the Sweet Embrace but the day got to her. She got on the toe and got galloped on and she wasn’t really herself.” he said.

Sargent added that he thought the result ultimately helped Wootton Lass and that it led to a more relaxed run on Wednesday.

“It brought her on so much and today she was more relaxed, she got there easily and she performed how I expected her to first-up.

“She was a lot more settled today and mentally, that first run did a lot for her.”

Ernaux disappoints

Before Wootton Lass took over the conversation, Ernaux dominated the Wednesday tips pieces. The daughter of 

I Am Invincible was the second-most expensive horse at the 2024 Easter Yearling Sale. Wednesday was her first race and she finished fourth, over 1.5 lengths behind the winner.

When asked about what went wrong for the filly, Waller assistant trainer Charlie Duckworth revealed he actually thought the run was promising for Ernaux.

“Blowing the start made it very hard. She has actually quickened up really nicely,” Duckworth said.

“It’s only race two, I don’t know if the fence is a bit slower but I’m not sure (if James Mcdonald) was afforded the option to go anywhere else.

“Ultimately, it was a pretty good debut.”