Showcasing

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...

Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony acknowledged the weakness of the lower end of the market as the Tattersalls December Foal Sale concluded on Saturday with a 125,000gns Showcasing (GB) filly leading the way.  Almost 30 million gns was spent on foals this week at Tattersalls while Friday saw the most expensive foal sold so far this year--a St Mark's Basilica (Fr) filly--in Europe and North America at 575,000gns. However, the aggregate of 29,842,902gns was down 15% on last year while the average dropped 6% to 44,608gns. The clearance rate was more...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Saturday's Insights features Noisy Music (Ire), the daughter of G1 Falmouth S. heroine Music Show (Ire) and is the lone filly in a nine-runner field. 12.15 Newcastle, £9,950, Mdn, 2yo, 6f (AWT) Jaber Abdullah's NOISY MUSIC (IRE) (Showcasing {GB}) is a Kevin Ryan-trained daughter of G1 Falmouth S. heroine...

2nd-Keeneland, $64,160, Msw, 4-27, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, 1:03.21, fm, 6 3/4 lengths. FANDOM (GB) (c, 2, Showcasing {GB}--Brogan {GB}, by Pivotal {GB}) took all the money at 3-5 and looked a winner every step of the way, breaking on top from the outside gate and easily clearing the field to keep his face clean up front. Rated through fractions of :22.24 and :46.11, the English-bred colt let room on the rail open up as he drifted out around the turn but no one was close enough to threaten. With only...

Whether it was Bayside Boy (Ire) at Ballylinch, Minzaal (Ire) at Derrinstown or King Of Change (GB) and Dubawi Legend (Ire) at Starfield, one of the main takeaways from this year's Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail was that the pedigree buffs and bloodstock fans love nothing more than getting a glimpse at the new stallions this country has to offer.  "Don't dream of putting a picture of that lad up on Twitter otherwise I'll have Eddie O'Leary tweeting that it's not the only pig down in Ballyhane," - Joe Foley. Few...

Havana Grey (GB), Whitsbury Manor Stud's champion-elect first-season sire of 2022, will stand for a fee of £18,500 next year. The 7-year-old son of Havana Gold (Ire) started his stud career at £8,000 and has covered the last  two seasons at a fee of £6,000. "After such a phenomenal year it's taken a lot of thought as we're trying to keep him within reach of the breeders that have supported him thus far," said stud director Ed Harper. "It's already clear that demand will far outweigh supply, and I just...

NEWMARKET, UK -- Even in what proved a record-breaking edition, Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale last year yielded just a couple of six-figure sales. On Thursday, we had two in the first half hour. Any prospectors who had staggered out of the opening two books gasping for some oasis of affordability already knew what they were up against. To be fair, trade would not remain quite as consistently wild as had been the case across the two preceding catalogues. While unsatisfied demand from Book 2 was transparent...

Just when you thought a fully-charged Royal Ascot couldn't be topped, along came Hollie Doyle.  The royal meeting was sadly missing The Queen for all five days this year but, France's republican tendencies aside, there are few in the racing world who would deny that Doyle is now the queen of Chantilly after reaching yet another milestone to become the first woman to ride a Group 1 Classic winner in Europe. Her great triumph came aboard Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) for Imad Al Sagar, who was achieving an important landmark...

New Castlefield Stud stallion Alkumait (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) is part of a new sponsorship agreement with The Curragh. The two-race package includes the first 2-year-old race of the new Flat Racing season on Mar. 26 and a 10-furlong maiden for 3-year-olds and up on Apr. 10. Both races will be an important part of launching and marketing the stallion's career. The G2 Mill Reef S. winner was purchased by Capital Bloodstock to stand at Castlefield Stud in County Kilkenny after his Mill Reef win. In addition, the breeder of the...

DEAUVILLE, France--Culls from some of Europe's-and indeed, the world's-greatest breeders have played a sizable role in driving the market at this year's breeding stock sales. Over the past few weeks buyers have come out in force for the stock deemed excess to Juddmonte, Godolphin and Shadwell, but they had to wait until Arqana's December Breeding Stock Sale for the offerings from Wertheimer et Frere, with that nursery selling exclusively in Deauville each December. It was a mare from that consignment that supplied the joint-highest price during Monday's second session of...

Showcasing (GB), the sire of three Group 1 winners with five sons at stud, will remain at £45,000 at Whitsbury Manor Stud for the 2022 season. Announcing the fees for his five stallions, stud director Ed Harper said, "Following last year's downward adjustment of our fees due to Covid we have decided to keep our fees similar to last year. We are delighted that so many of our clients have had great success at the sales and feel it's important to maintain value commercial stallion options for breeders." He added,...

Shadwell's exciting 2-year-old Ehraz (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) may have an excuse for his last-of-five finish in last week's G3 Acomb S. at York after scoping unsatisfactorily after the race. The Richard Hannon-trained Ehraz broke his maiden at second asking at Ascot by 4 1/4 lengths on July 23, but trailed in by 7 1/2 lengths at York behind Highclere's Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). "We've just got to put a line through that; he didn't scope very well," said Shadwell Racing Manager Angus Gold. "It was too bad to...