Joe Callan

NEWMARKET, UK--Improved trade punctuated by a steady stream of notable results for the progeny of Dragon Symbol would be a neat summation of Tuesday's opening session of the December Foal Sale at Tattersalls, with Whitsbury Manor Stud's first-crop sire alone accounting for nearly 25% of the 1,684,200gns that changed hands on the day. That total turnover represented a 23% increase compared to 12 months ago, while the average and the median also painted a much prettier picture as opposed to what was a sluggish start to last year's December Foal...

There are many ways to celebrate breeding a Classic winner, but Ed Harper must be in the minority in having selected a betting shop on Newmarket High Street as his first destination after departing the town's Rowley Mile, the landmark achievement of his family's Whitsbury Manor Stud still barely having sunk in. As it was, little more than an hour after the homebred Chaldean had skipped to glory in the 2023 edition of the 2,000 Guineas, Harper found himself in front of a wall of screens, ready to watch the...

Havana Grey (GB), one of the most exciting young stallions in Europe, has had his fee made private as he prepares to stand his seventh season at Whitsbury Manor Stud in 2025. The sire of the dual Group 1-winning juvenile Vandeek (GB) and this year's G2 Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes winner Arabian Dusk (GB), Havana Grey stood at a fee of £55,000 when covering 139 mares this season--down from 164 in 2023--and his book for the upcoming breeding season will be restricted to mares considered to be a suitable height....

"A victory for small breeders!" That was the emphatic verdict from an emotional Muriel Knox after her family had topped Tuesday's opening session of the Goffs UK Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale with their homebred Havana Grey (GB) filly for £240,000. Mark McStay's Avenue Bloodstock struck the winning bid on behalf of Skara Glen Stables. Lot 157 might have been consigned by Sarah Fanning Sales, but it's fair to say that this was a Knox filly through and through with Miss Mercy (Ire) (Law Society) as her fourth dam, a mare...

The 107th annual general meeting of the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA), held on Tuesday, Aug. 13, saw members and trustees gather at Newbury racecourse to discuss the ongoing challenges in British racing's future. Philip Newton, chairman of the association, reiterated that evidence-based strategy as well as incentives and intervention were working, and that the methods were the way forward for a sustainable future. Newton took time to highlight the positive impact of both the Elite Mares' Scheme as well as the Great British Bonus (GBB) Scheme. The latter has paid...

Not only did Havana Grey (GB) record more individual winners and total wins than any of his first-season sire rivals in Great Britain and Ireland, but he also broke the £1-million marker for total earnings, which is why he deservedly wears the champion freshman stallion crown. Those earnings were propped up by big sales race winners Shouldvebeenaring (GB) and Eddie's Boy (GB), with the latter going on to bag a Group 3 before selling for 320,000gns at the Tattersalls horses-in-training sale in October. Havana Grey had 36 winners for 76...

Joe Callan has been appointed head of bloodstock and sales at Whitsbury Manor Stud, home of this year's leading first-season sire, Havana Grey (GB) and breeder of G1 Dewhurst S. winner Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Formerly with the National Stud in Newmarket, Callan has spent the past 12 months as interim general manager at Market Rasen Racecourse. Stud director Ed Harper said, "I have been waiting a long time to identify the right candidate to help us grow our business and feel that Joe is the ideal person for this...