'His progeny have engines, minds and have everything' - Straight Up pays winning tribute to sire Wootton Bassett On the day that the death of his sire Wootton Bassett was announced, Straight Up made a winning debut in the opening juvenile maiden at Listowel. The 9/4 favourite soon tracked his stablemate King Of Sparta over this extended seven-furlongs and the pair moved clear of the remainder racing to the final furlong. Wayne Lordan sent Straight Up past King Of Sparta just outside that marker and the new leader readily asserted in the closing stages to seal victory by three lengths. King Of Sparta ran a solid race in second at 11/2 and was five lengths clear of Perisher (3/1). Stable representative Chris Armstrong said: "He is a lovely horse and has plenty of size and scope. To do that without a prior run was a very good performance and Wayne was delighted with him. "He jumped a bit slow, but was able to recover and his last furlong was his best. Whatever he does at two will be a bonus and could be a lovely middle-distance horse for next year. We'll try to get one more run into him this year and then put him away." Regarding the news of the death of Wootton Bassett, he added: "The news was out early on social media this morning and, obviously, he is a massive loss. When you look at the few years he has been at Coolmore, what he achieved was astronomical and we were fortunate to have so many nice ones by him. "His progeny have engines, minds and have everything. There are obviously more crops to come, but his death is a massive blow to the whole team. To lose your star is a big one and he was the ultimate. We have to look forward now, so hopefully there are a few more stars to replace him at stud." Additional reporting by Tom Weekes
