Chaldean caps "Dream summer" for Whitsbury Manor Stud with Dewhurst Victory
CHALDEAN (GB) capped what Whitsbury Manor Stud director Ed Harper has described as “a dream summer” for the Hampshire-based breeding operation when winning the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile Racecourse on Saturday afternoon.
Carrying the second-string Juddmonte Farms silks but sent off joint-favourite with the first-string and eventual third-place getter NOSTRUM (GB), the Andrew Balding-trained colt, who was the winner of the Group 3 Acomb Stakes in August and Group 2 Champagne Stakes in September, showed a tough attitude out in front to successfully fend off his rivals all the way to the wire.
In doing so, he delivered a ninth individual Group 1 winner of the year for FRANKEL (GB), whose yearlings were in high demand at Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 earlier this week.
Unlike most of Juddmonte’s Group 1 winners by their own sire sensation, Chaldean had to be purchased by the late Prince Khalid Abdullah’s operation in the Tattersalls ring from Whitsbury Manor Stud. He cost 550,000 guineas at the December Foal Sale in 2020.
Now the winner of Europe’s most highly regarded two-year-old contest, Chaldean is certainly the best foal yet out of SUELITA (GB), a daughter of DUTCH ART (GB) who was bought on somewhat of a whim by stud owner Chris Harper for just 21,500 guineas at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale in 2013.
However, Chaldean is far from the only high-class performer out of the mare. Indeed, five of her six offspring of racing age thus far are winners, three of those winners being at Stakes level. The family hit headlines back in 2020 when ALKUMAIT (GB), by Whitsbury Manor’s resident sire SHOWCASING (GB), won the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes.
Speaking with GBRI on Saturday afternoon, Whitsbury Manor Stud director Ed Harper said:
“Most of our good two-year-olds we’ve bred have been over five or six furlongs, so we don’t usually breed that type of horse, but we’re chuffed that we have. It takes it to another level.
“It’s all thanks to dad. He was sitting in the ring at Tatts when Suelita went round at the December Mare Sale and he recognised the family. Dad had completely handed over the keys of the business to me, but he couldn’t resist it, so he told me he’d just bought a mare. It’s something he never does, it was a one-off, so for it to be Suelita is pretty amazing.
“Chaldean is very young. I think the box went out to Juddmonte on about the 8th or 9th June and we were all slightly looking at one another wondering if it was the right thing to do, but thank goodness we did. The mating worked perfectly and we got a mid-May foal. It just shows this obsession with February and March foals is not necessary.
“He got spoilt a bit because he was the last foal born that year and he was by Frankel out of our best mare. He had a lot of attention, but he takes everything in his stride.
Recalling taking a young Chaldean to the Tattersalls December Foal Sale in 2020, Harper continued:
“He was popular to everybody at the sale. He wasn’t a big foal because he was so young. Even though he looked class, he looked small because obviously at the time he was two or three months younger than a lot of the other foals around him, but he had big ways about him and never missed a beat. I mean he was only weaned a couple of weeks before prep started, so it was a lot to ask of him, but he took everything in his stride, he never gave us a moment’s worry. The whole idea did worry me slightly because he was so young, but it didn’t seem to bother him.
“She [Suelita] has a Kingman filly foal this year that’ll be going to the Tattersalls Foal Sale, all being well, and she’s an exceptional type. I’m trying not to wish my life away to get to that sale at the moment, but she’s an exceptional foal, and we sent her back to Showcasing this year because she’s already bred Alkumait by Showcasing. I expect Frankel might be on the dance card next year.
“Dad was gradually building up the quality of the broodmare band for decades and I’ve tried to do the same. Showcasing has really given the whole broodmare band a bit of a kick in the last five years in particular, so it’s only in the last few years that we’ve been able to use these top-notch stallions.”
When asked about how things are going at Whitsbury Manor Stud more generally, Harper added:
“Watching the racing this summer has been amazing with the Havana Greys doing so well. But also Showcasing – it’s almost as if Showcasing got wind of his success and thought ‘hang on mate, I’m top dog around here.’ They’ve both had five individual two-year-old Stakes winners and only No Nay Never has had more, so they’ve both really been battling it out at the top of the tree together.
“It’s been a dream summer. I need to organise a party when we get back after [Tattersalls] Book 3!”