‘Now Is The Time’ – Whitsbury Manor Blue Hen Suelita Prepares for Sceptre Sessions Date

[Wandering Eyes]

Ed Harper has admitted to wrestling with the decision to part with Whitsbury Manor Stud's outstanding producer Suelita (Dutch Art) at the forthcoming December Mares Sale at Tattersalls.

The dam of the 2,000 Guineas winning-sire Chaldean, among others, Suelita will go under the hammer as lot 1726 during the second of the two Sceptre Sessions on Tuesday, December 2.

Harper stressed that the team at Whitsbury Manor will forever be indebted to the now-16-year-old, whilst acknowledging that, if she was ever going to be sold, now was the time.

 

 

 

“It was a really difficult decision,” Harper said of the thinking behind Suelita's impending appearance at Park Paddocks, 12 years after she was acquired at the same sale for 21,500gns. “To be honest, it was one we only made right up until the last day of entries. We were going back and forth over it.

“Thinking about our young stallions – Dragon Symbol, Elite Status and Sergei [Prokofiev] – we're probably better off investing the money she can realise into young mares that can go to those stallions. She's far too special to go to unproven stallions. She needs to be going to the cream of the cop every time.”

He continued, “The truth of it is that she's probably outgrown us. The thing that really keeps Whitsbury growing is our reputation for building stallion careers and supporting our own stallions. She's done a great job with that. We bred [G2 Mill Reef Stakes winner] Alkumait and [Listed Cecil Frail Stakes winner and G1 Flying Five Stakes runner-up] Get Ahead by Showcasing and we've got a lovely colt foal by Havana Grey.

“But the truth of it is that she's probably been to a Whitsbury stallion for the last time. She's in foal to Frankel now, it's the perfect match, and now is the time [to sell her].”

In addition to Chaldean, who also counted the G1 Dewhurst Stakes among his five career wins, Suelita's other offspring by Frankel include last year's filly who, at 2,500,000gns, equalled the long-held record-high price at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale.

“She's been an integral part of the building of Whitsbury over the last few years,” Harper said of the development facilitated by windfalls such as that one. “She was the last mare Dad bought and her legacy will live on in the stock and the infrastructure that having her has been able to build us.

“This isn't the last chapter of Suelita at Whitsbury – we still have the colt foal by Havana Grey. I think, selling her at this point, to likely an end user, is the right time for her and we'll enjoy watching what she does beyond this. We'll wish them all the best of luck and hope they breed another Classic winner.”

Certainly, Harper is confident that any prospective buyers should have no fears with regards Suelita's longevity, hailing a brilliant mind which has stood her so well in her broodmare career up to this point.

“She's so mentally tough and she's always the boss of the paddock,” Harper explained. “She produces a lovely-looking type, but I think it's probably the mentality she passes on which is most special.”

He added, “It's fantastic to have a superstar mare that we can genuinely recommend to our best clients and say, 'Look, there are no holes in this mare.' You only need to look at her breeding record to see how easy she is to get in foal. Again, she got in foal to Frankel first time this year and she looks magnificent. Hopefully, people will be able to see that and we'll be able to give everyone the assurances that there's likely to be plenty of foals left in her.

“She's meant a huge amount to my family and all of the team here. It's been an absolute privilege to own her and, hopefully, there's lots more of the story to come.”

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