'We've never been so quick to reach 100 mares booked'

Back in 1994 the British stallion industry could boast a network of at least 70 stallion studs. Today the situation is very different, with the demise of the likes of Benson, Lavington, Woodditton and Egerton Studs – among many others – as stallion farms contributing to a much-reduced group of approximately 40.

Amid this worrying development, however, the Harper family’s Whitsbury Manor Stud in Hampshire has remained unwavering in its ambition to offer British breeders an attractive roster. Once home to the likes of Ballymoss and Young Generation, it also developed the latter’s son Cadeaux Genereux into a leading sire of his era before becoming home to Showcasing, one of the biggest success stories for British breeding of modern times.

Showcasing will command a career-high fee of £55,000 this season off the back of a year highlighted by the achievements of Advertise, Soldier’s Call and Mohaather. However, the farm is not one to rest on its laurels; next in line to come under scrutiny on its roster is Due Diligence, whose first crop are two-year-olds, followed by the Hungerford and Sandy Lane Stakes winner Adaay, whose first crop of foals were so well received at auction last winter.

It is a competitive roster that offers breeders access to speed, and one that has been complemented to great effect this season with the addition of Havana Grey, who enjoyed his finest moment when successful in last year’s Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh.

A real speedster, Havana Grey was saddled by Karl Burke to win six of his 16 starts. In addition to the Flying Five, in which he made all the running to defeat Son Of Rest and Sioux Nation, he also landed the Molecomb, Dragon and National Stakes as a juvenile – the same year that he also finished second in the Prix Morny – and won the Sapphire Stakes against older horses at three.

“We knew there were at least four or five studs trying to buy Havana Grey, but that’s the reality these days,” says stud director Ed Harper. “The modern market will only accept top-class racecourse performers, so naturally we’re going to compete for the same ones.

“We were offered at least half a dozen lesser performers in the year but I was determined not to spend the next four years pushing a stallion I didn’t believe in 100 per cent.”

Ed Harper: 'I was determined not to spend the next four years pushing a stallion I didn’t believe in 100 per cent'Credit: Sarah Farnsworth/Goffs UK

By Havana Gold out of the winning Blanc De Chine, Havana Grey is also the product of a commercial combination – indeed, the stud’s marketing notes the horse as blending “the toughness of Galileo with the speed of Dark Angel”. Thus, at an opening fee of £8,000, it is not surprising to hear he has been quick to find favour with breeders, among them outfits of the ilk of Lanwades, Tweenhills and Rathasker Studs.

“The reception has been great,” says Harper. “We’ve never been so quick to reach 100 mares booked, which we hit just before the new year.

“Being a grey and having run so many times as a two- and three-year-old made him a very well-known horse, so that’s made it much easier. He fits our ‘Whitsbury profile’ perfectly, and I think when that happens the stallion naturally fills a logical space in breeders’ minds.

“We also chose to sell a select number of breeding rights in the same way as we did for Showcasing. We’ve sold 20 so far to studs we regularly work with, such as Hesmonds Stud, Barton Stud and Llety Farms.

“I’m also delighted that Rathasker, Lanwades and Tweenhills have come on board as I think it’s important for us so-called independent stallion studs to support each other – we ourselves have breeding rights in Gregorian, Bobby’s Kitten and Lightning Spear.”

In keeping with the stud’s limited book policy, Havana Grey will cover around 135 mares, 24 of whom are owned by Whitsbury Manor.

“I feel it’s particularly important for us to limit our first-season sires as most of the breeders using them will be purely commercial,” says Harper. “This allows us to hit our sweet spot of foal numbers going to the sales as evidenced by the success of Adaay’s foals last year.

“Limiting a stallion’s first book also keeps the physical pressure of the covering season under control for an immature horse, helping to aid fertility.”

He adds: “Other than the dam of Heartache, who is going to Kingman, we’re genuinely sending him our best mares. He’ll receive 24 Whitsbury mares including Damdam Freeze, the dam of Group 1 performer Kendam, Suelita, out of whom we sold a 425,000gns yearling in October, and a half-sister to Showcasing.

“We’re also sending him a filly we purchased at Tattersalls named My Lea, who won a pair of Group 3s and was extremely fast.

“A good number of outside breeders are also sending him smart mares, including half-sisters to Pearl Secret, Salouen and Sands Of Mali. Mickley Stud, who bred Havana Grey with Lady Lonsdale, have also taken a breeding right – we also appreciate that they’re sending the dam of Havana Grey to Showcasing this season, which is exciting.

“Karl Burke is also sending two fillies whom he trained.”

Just a mere snapshot of that support would be enough for any onlooker to appreciate the opportunities already coming the way of Havana Grey.

Of course it is ultimately up to the horse to produce the goods, firstly in the sales ring and then on the track, but with a full book of mares along with the support from some of Britain’s most successful breeders, not to mention Whitsbury Manor itself, he has been gifted a foundation rarely afforded to young stallions in his price bracket.

“We’re very lucky that Showcasing now allows us to support our new stallions like never before from start to finish; in the quality of mares we send, new clients we have and foals we can purchase at the sales,” says Harper.

“We’re able to do so much more than previously. Showcasing had to make much of his success off his own back but Havana Grey will get every advantage we can muster.”

Read our complete guide to all 30 new recruits to the British and Irish stallion ranks for 2019, including Cracksman, Roaring Lion and Saxon Warrior