Ed Harper

Kelly Thomas enjoyed a banner year with Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}), who she bred at her Maywood Stud, going unbeaten in a spellbinding two-year-old campaign that featured Group 1 wins in the Prix Morny and Middle Park S.  In this week's Q&A, Thomas revealed how some people in the industry have shared with her that she has become an inspiration for smaller breeders. She also lifted the lid on her own hopes and dreams for Vandeek this season and explained her philosophy to breeding.  You have had lots to...

It has been a big year for Whitsbury Manor Stud. From a landmark result with homebred Chaldean going on to win the 2,000 Guineas for Juddmonte, his half-sister Get Ahead selling for 2.5m gns at public auction and the continued rise of superstar stallion Havana Grey, 2023 has been the gift that keeps on giving for Ed Harper and his team. There is plenty, still, to look forward to next year, with fellow Whitsbury-based stallion Sergei Prokofiev set to be represented by his first crop of runners and Dragon Symbol...

High class sprinter Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}--Arcamist {GB}, by Arcano {Ire}) has been retired from racing and will stand at Whitsbury Manor Stud in 2024. A fee will be announced later. A winner of his first four starts before missing by a nose in the G2 Sandy Lane S. in May of 2021 for Roger Varian and owner Yoshiro Kubota, he was first past the post in the G1 Commonwealth Cup a month later before being disqualified and placed second. The son of the winning Arcamist was also...

DONCASTER, England-The vendors have answered the rallying call. That was the message issued by an upbeat Henry Beeby on the eve of the eagerly-anticipated Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale. And judging by the footfall here since Sunday, the Goffs chief has every reason to be positive.  The Al Mohamediya Racing team have been out in force trying to find the next Jasour (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}). Top trainers Richard Hannon, Clive Cox and Ger Lyons have also been busy inspecting the stock on offer, not to mention the number of leading...

There is no denying that the stallion market is becoming increasingly difficult with appetites for stud prospects growing. There is also no questioning that the support a young stallion receives in their first few years is paramount to their success. Most stallions are an easy sell in their first year with many being oversubscribed and then numbers falling off in the years leading up to that first crop hitting the track. However, one stallion whose numbers and support could very likely stay consistent throughout those primitive years is Lope Y...

Not only did Havana Grey (GB) record more individual winners and total wins than any of his first-season sire rivals in Great Britain and Ireland, but he also broke the £1-million marker for total earnings, which is why he deservedly wears the champion freshman stallion crown. Those earnings were propped up by big sales race winners Shouldvebeenaring (GB) and Eddie's Boy (GB), with the latter going on to bag a Group 3 before selling for 320,000gns at the Tattersalls horses-in-training sale in October. Havana Grey had 36 winners for 76...

Ed Harper will never forget the time he first encountered Sergei Prokofiev in the flesh. The Whitsbury Manor Stud director was at the Rowley Mile for the G3 Cornwallis S., anticipating a big run from Heartwarming (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), a farm-bred filly leased to the Hot To Trot syndicate with Clive Cox. "We fancied her heavily," Harper recalls. "She'd been doing some very smart work, we knew we hadn't quite seen the best of her, today was the day. But then I saw Sergei Prokofiev in the pre-parade ring and...

Joe Callan has been appointed head of bloodstock and sales at Whitsbury Manor Stud, home of this year's leading first-season sire, Havana Grey (GB) and breeder of G1 Dewhurst S. winner Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Formerly with the National Stud in Newmarket, Callan has spent the past 12 months as interim general manager at Market Rasen Racecourse. Stud director Ed Harper said, "I have been waiting a long time to identify the right candidate to help us grow our business and feel that Joe is the ideal person for this...

No first-season sire has made an impact with his runners on the track quite like Havana Grey (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) has and, for all that Ed Harper of Whitsbury Manor Stud is petrified to tempt fate, he agreed that the early signs are hugely positive for their up-and-coming stallion. Havana Grey was a brilliant 2-year-old himself, winning the G3 Molecomb S. before finishing runner-up in the G1 Prix Morny and G2 Flying Childers S., but it wasn't until the end of his 3-year-old campaign until he recorded his greatest...

The British EBF has allocated £1.9-million for total prizemoney contribution in 2022, with £1.7-million designated for over 700 flat races across Great Britain. A further £100,000 has been allocated for a new series for EBF-eligible 2-year-olds, with details to be announced in April. National Hunt prizemoney allocation remains unaltered and will support four series' including the EBF National Hunt Novice Hurdle. In other British EBF news, Ed Harper of Whitsbury Manor Stud joins the board of trustees while Chris Richardson of Cheveley Park Stud retires after two full terms. Shane...

Whitsbury Manor Stud announced the stud fees for its five stallions in 2021. Heading the roster is Showcasing (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}--Arabesque {GB}, by Zafonic), who will stand for a reduced fee of ₤45,000, Oct. 1 SLF. "Our industry finds itself in uncertain times and it is vital that we act accordingly," said Ed Harper, Director of Whitsbury Manor Stud. "We have therefore listened to our clients and chosen to drop the fees of our three highest priced stallions to offer the best possible value to breeders and keep the...

When starting off a new stallion, an important part of inspiring confidence in outside breeders is for the horse's home farm to be giving him plenty of support. This is routinely the case at Whitsbury Manor Stud, where the pedigrees of their stakes-winning offspring are liberally spiced with names from its own roster on both sides. Take, for example, the two group winners from the first crop of Due Diligence last season. Both Good Vibes (GB) and Streamline (GB) were bred at Whitsbury Manor from daughters of the farm's late...