Havana ball

It seems as though every bloodstock and breeding publication is writing about Whitsbury Manor Stud at the moment. And why wouldn’t they? Most recently, Ed Harper’s team were responsible for yet another headline when a Havana Grey son of Stellarta (Sakhee’s Secret) topped day two of Tattersalls Foal Sale for 250,000 guineas. Later in the week, the homebred Kingman half-brother to new stallion recruit, Dragon Symbol brought a winning bid of 360,000 guineas. Both are homegrown examples of the years and years of graft that have led to Whitsbury becoming the name on everybody’s lips.

From reaping the rewards of an astute investment in Havana Grey to the inspired decision to acquire their Blue Hen Suelita, Whitsbury Manor is riding the crest of a wave. This is a wave that to the naked eye seems to have risen with Showcasing, gathered (immense) momentum with Havana Grey and could be on the brink of a scarcely believable crescendo with Sergei Prokofiev’s imminent first runners. As such, one might be lured into believing that this surge in fortune is somewhat of an overnight success but just ten minutes of Ed Harper’s time will soon set you straight. Lucky enough to have that opportunity, here is my recount of a captivating conversation that will hopefully do justice to one of the more heartwarming industry success stories in racing in the modern era.

Going all the way back to the very beginning, Whitsbury Manor was an arable farm in the 1960s. Then owned by William Hill, the Master of the Manor employed his 21 years young nephew and (subsequently) Ed’s father, Chris Harper, as farm manager. He was given a six month probation period which went so well he was instructed to continue his active learning and oversee the equine side of the business. Tragedy struck shortly after, in 1971, when William Hill died unexpectedly whilst attending sales. The stud was part of his assets to be dispersed and it was a pension company that took ownership. To the surprise and delight of Chris Harper, they saw value in the business and the manager who led it and asked him to stay at the helm.

At this point, Ed describes his father as very happy with his lot. Having evaded the very real possibility of losing his livelihood at Whitsbury, continuing to manage the farm was “a dream come true”. He only ever wanted to be a stud farm manager. It seemed a shortlived dream, as the pension company resolved that selling was more financially prudent in the early eighties. Momentarily believing he had lost his job for the second time, Chris Harper acted in a manner that set a resounding precedent for Whitsbury in the years to come. Backing himself and somehow convincing the bank to do the same, he borrowed what Ed describes as a crazy amount of money and the Whitsbury-Harper connection became official.

With a substantial loan on the stud demanding a substantial amount of interest, Chris knew the tried and tested method of broodmares and standing stallions on the behalf of patrons was not going to be enough to stay afloat. Though it may seem like a recent peril of major farms, sourcing a successful stallion prospect has never been easy. It wasn’t until Compton Place (Indian Ridge) in 1999 that Whitsbury Manor began to enjoy a return on their investment having taken the plunge into stallion ownership.

Speaking fondly and with a hint of incredulity, Ed credits Compton Place with keeping the business afloat for ten or fifteen years. With Compton Place tipping along at a peak fee of £10,000 and “keeping our head above water”, the next step was to find a stallion to take things up a notch. Borrowing “a huge amount of money” was required to buy July Cup winner Sakhee’s Secret (Sakhee), who stood his first season at Whitsbury in 2009. The Group 1 winner out of a stakes-winning mare would have appeared a solid bet to many but there are no guarantees in life and certainly none in horses. With the benefit of hindsight, Ed can now light-heartedly recount how wrong they turned out to be. So much so that Whitsbury came within inches of giving up the stallion game when the bank manager told them the game was up, they had their chance.

Around about the same time, Ed had made the decision to come home Whitsbury after a stint as a surveyor. His return at the beginning of Sakhee’s Secret’s shortlived (six seasons) stint seems to have been the crucial boost they needed at a critical point. Sadly, not for Sakhee’s Secret, but by injecting a new lease of life commonly known amongst most predecessors as naivety, the father-and-son pair decided to go one more time. With their powers of persuasion and the vital accumulation of years of experience with sourcing stallions, the Harper team went after a stallion who ultimately proved that final leap of faith was worth every ounce of effort.

In 2011, the arrival of Showcasing at an opening fee of £5,000 was a quiet one. Dropping marginally to £4,500 for the seasons preceding his first runners won’t have helped the Harper family nerves. Having thrown everything at Juddmonte’s regally-bred son of Oasis Dream, who was just beginning his own ascension to the top table, thankfully the early signs from his debut crop were encouraging. Thirty three winners and five stakes winners, three at group level had to be considered a promising start for the Gimcrack winner.

With the future of Whitsbury’s stallion division hanging in the balance, the Harpers could not afford another mistake. Ed affirms that if Showcasing hadn’t worked, there probably wouldn’t be stallions standing at Whitsbury today. A subsequent increase to £15,000 in 2015 will have helped all parties involved sleep a little more soundly, and the best was still to come. With seven-length Mill Reef Stakes winner Toocoolforschool in his first crop and rags -to-riches Group 1 winner Quiet Reflection in his second, Whitsbury Manor seemed secure for now. Showcasing was confirmed a success but as you now know, by no means an overnight one.

Success breeds success, and never the type to rest on their laurels, the quest to find a barnmate and eventual successor for Showcasing began. Time waits for no one and no more so in the stallion business. Whitsbury had achieved what they had set out to do and found a stallion to comfortably pay for himself, the farm and have a bit left over to reinvest in infrastructure. Ed alludes to the gradual change the business of standing stallions has endured, with very few commercial stallion studs still in operation in the UK. The days of a stallion covering 60 to 70 mares are gone with the market very much polarising a select few buzz sires, each covering north of 150 mares. This in turn has made it increasingly difficult for smaller operations to stay afloat and could even make it more difficult to find stallions like Showcasing, who establish themselves the hard way.

Not to be deterred, Ed insists that the options are to get better at it or to stop. Much to the delight of many commercial breeders on both sides of the Irish Sea, Whitsbury have stuck to their principles and continued to get better. The recruitment of Group 1 Flying Five Stakes winner, Havana Grey is one that Showcasing enabled and the fact Havana Grey is now posing a tangible threat to his position as Whitsbury anchorman is one that won’t be keeping the Harper family up at night. In fact, it is the breeders looking to nab one of just 150 slots for Havana Grey, who are doing that and the advice is to put the phone down. Shortly after his new fee of £55,000 was announced, Havana Grey’s limited book was full.