Sergei Prokofiev

We've been waiting so long for the proper Flat to start that it seems almost criminal to veer straight off to the other side of the world, but there was plenty of interest for breeders from this side at Rosehill in Sydney on Saturday morning.  One person who managed to stay awake past 2am to watch the highly impressive last-to-first romp of Post Impressionist (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) in the G3 N E Manion Cup was his breeder Henrietta Egan, who is based at Corduff Stud with her husband David.  Now...

Monday's curtain-raising Curragh card saw Whitsbury Manor Stud's first-season sire Sergei Prokofiev register his opening salvo as his son Arizona Blaze (GB) captured the five-furlong Castle Star And Alkumait At Capital Stud Irish EBF Maiden. Representing AMO Racing Limited and Giselle De Aguiar and the Adrian Murray stable, the £82,000 Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale graduate was always on the sharp end under David Egan. Asserting from Rowdy Yeats (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) inside the final furlong, the 5-4 favourite eked out a professional 1 1/4-length success. "David [Egan] said...

Paddy Power have had their say on the first-season sires' championship and the betting giants are unable to separate Pinatubo (Ire) and Sergei Prokofiev at the head of the market at odds of 6-4. It was Blue Point (Ire) who dominated the first-season sires' championship last year in recording 50 individual winners in Europe including two Group 1 scorers. According to Paddy Power, Darley are in a strong position to scoop the prize for the second successive year as, not only can the powerful operation call on joint-favourite Pinatubo, but...

Havana Grey (GB) was the most profitable British- and Irish-based yearling sire of 2023 according to the newly-published Weatherbys Bloodstock Sales Review. Havana Grey topped the standings with a profitability index of 10.75, comfortably ahead of the next best stallion, Sioux Nation, on 6.61. Those figures were calculated by dividing each sire's 2023 yearling average by their covering fee of 2021, when the offspring in question were conceived. It was another hugely successful year on the racecourse for the progeny of Havana Grey, with the G1 Prix Morny and G1...

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...

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...

DONCASTER, England--A serious tempo was set to the European yearling sale season at Arqana last week with strong trade recorded in the August and V2 sales. If the momentum is to continue into the Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale this week, Goffs could be in for a productive week.  G3 Princess Margaret S. winner Sacred Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) was sourced here 12 months ago for £52,000 while similarly smart two-year-old Jasour (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) cost £85,000.  Both juveniles have flown the flag for the Donny yearlings with their...

For this final part of the series, we are looking at stallions who have retired to stud since 2021 and will thus have either first foals or yearlings at the sales this year or are about to cover their first book of mares. There is plenty to digest from three years' intake and of course prices can often drop after a stallion's first year at stud, so there could be some value to be found for breeders willing to roll the dice on a stallion about to embark on his...

NEWMARKET, UK--With a hundred extra foals catalogued for this year's December Foal Sale, a lengthy opening session conducted in bursts of driving rain then bright sunshine kicked off the four days of trade in a largely positive manner. Both the average and median were up, as was turnover, albeit from a larger number offered and sold this year. Only the clearance rate, at 70%, was down, from 84% last year. The median of 13,000gns represented a 30% rise, while the average was up by 8% at 16,552gns. With 18 more...

The insatiable demand for foals was evident in the figures recorded at Goffs last week with turnover rising 16% to €29,561,000 and the average climbing 16% to €40,110. At the top end of the market, Kingman (GB) dominated with three foals by the Juddmonte-based stallion selling for a combined €1,540,000 and one of Europe's leading pinhookers Philipp Stauffenberg signing for the €550,000 top lot by the sire.  Tally-Ho Stud may be best known for being sellers but they pipped Stauffenberg for the biggest spenders title by signing for 19 foals...

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...

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...