‘I never thought this could happen to someone like me’: filly foal sells for £2.6m

A Frankel filly foal, a full sister to Chaldean who won the Dewhurst Stakes and the 2000 Guineas, has sold for 2.5m guineas (£2.625m) at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, equalling the European record in the process.

The filly, who is out of Suelita, was introduced into the sales ring as “the queen of the show” by Tattersalls auctioneer Alastair Pim, and the opening bid was 1m guineas. It was Amo Racing’s Kia Joorabchian who made the final bid after a brief phone call. It is the highest ever price achieved by a filly foal in Europe – the previous record holder was when My Typhoon went down for 1.8m guineas at this sale in 2002.

“What is there to say? We have spent 2.5m on an own-sister to a Classic winner; I think we have made a good move, and it is a brave statement of intent by Kia,” said bloodstock agent Alex Elliott. “I was willing Kia to make that last bid, he had to make a phone call – he said that he had to phone a friend; I said don’t ask the audience! I am over the moon – such horses are so very hard to buy. The mare is unbelievable, the farm is unbelievable, the sire is unbelievable and she is a lovely filly.”

The filly was bred and consigned by Whitsbury Manor Stud; Chris Harper, who took over the running of the stud in the 1970s and whose son Ed Harper now runs it, said: “I am very emotional. Suelita was the last mare I bought, she was just my sort – very pretty, not very big, a nice big body with short legs. Did I think she could become what she has? Never! What a lucky chap I am? It is quite extraordinary, I never thought this could happen to someone like me!”

Ed Harper added: “It is amazing! It’s funny, when we have a really good one like this I have very little to do with her really – the team [at home] just go into overdrive. She did not need any selling, the mating planned itself. It has all been down to the team.”

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