Spring is just around the corner, which means the turf season is not far away! 

February's Runner Highlights

DARN HOT DAME (pictured above) made her handicap debut on 23rd February at Wolverhampton. The three year old filly was ridden by Sean Levey for the mile and a quarter distance. The pair jumped slowly away from the stalls and had to do quite a lot of work to get up to the pace. Darn Hot Dame got tired in the last furlong, but managed to hold her position to run on into 3rd. She won’t be far away from a win.

MADMAN is another who ran on well again this month following his win at the beginning of January. Tom Marquand was in the saddle for the six furlong sprint, and the pair were in touch with the leaders and just beaten by a head. The gelding is continually progressing with every run and is competitive off his mark of 62.

He is available to lease for the season, and there is no hidden or purchase costs, just the fees for his keep and his racing costs. If you are interested, and would like some further information then please do get in touch on [email protected]

SPOTLIGHT: First Season Sires for 2026

Our new mini series will be looking at various different topics over the next few months and focusing on a wide range of industry news as well as interesting racehorse-specific subjects. If you have any suggestions for the series or if there is something that you would like to know more about, then please do let us know by emailing [email protected]  

Every year there is always excitement around the horses that have retired to the breeding shed, and will be having their first runners in the summer. First season sires are usually good value in that they are unproven and so the price is usually lower than the more established sires whose progeny have yielded top results.

The first season sires who had everyone talking at the Autumn yearling sales included BLACKBEARD (pictured below), the Cartier champion 2yo colt and 2 x Gr.1 winning juvenile of 2022. He was a winner on debut in April, and raced evey month until September, landing both the Prix Morny and Middle Park. He retired after sustaining an injury and is Coolmore’s precocious & speedy son of No Nay Never. In his first book, he covered 194 mares and his first yearlings sold for six figure sums in the sales ring with a top lot of £500,000. With a speedy sire who excelled at 2 years old, there will be plenty of interest in how the progeny perform on the track.

Another stallion who took the sales ring by storm was MINZAAL, who won or was placed at top level at the age of 2,3 and 4. A son of Mehmas, he was a winner at 2 in the Gimcrack and an impressive winner of the Sprint cup at Haydock at 4, he brings precocity and sprinting talent to his progeny. His fee was 15,000 euro and his yearlings proved highly popular with prices up to 550,000 gns.

Tally Ho Stud are hoping PERSIAN FORCE can follow in the footsteps of Starman (winner in 2025) as leading first season sire for 2026. A son of Mehmas, Persian Force landed the Brocklesby by nearly 5 lengths on the opening day of the British flat season and continued to impress with a Group win in the July cup and placing in the Phoenix Stakes, Prix Morny and Middle Park. For a starting fee of 10,000 euros, his first yearlings made prices of up up 200,00gns. Another son of Mehmas who is hoping to make waves at stud is CATURRA. A winner of the Flying Childers and the Rose Bowl, he is expected to make a rapid start with his first runners. Standing his first season at £6,500, Caturra covered 109 mares and prices in the ring went up to 60,000gns.

Starfield Stud have SPACE TRAVELLER, a Group-2 winning and top-level placed son of Bated Breath. The 10 year old was a group performer at two and three before being transferred stateside at five to place in a number of Grade 1 contests. His first crop of yearlings made prices up to 240,000 gns from an opening fee of 6,500 euros.

Every year the betting companies assess the excitement around these new sires, and word of mouth from trainers on who will be the new leading first-season sire of 2026. Currently Paddy Power and Bet 365 have the betting as follows:

10/11 Minzaal, 6/4 Blackbeard, 4/1 Persian Force, 20 Space Traveller, 50 Caturra.

The stallions in the betting have various numbers of foals of racing age. The Global Stallions app can give an exact figure of these numbers and this could also determine how well the stallion does in the first year. SPACE TRAVELLER has the highest number of foals of racing age in 121 and BLACKBEARD comes in second with 116. Closely following is MINZAAL with 115, whereas PERSIAN FORCE has 99 and CATURRA has the smallest crop with only 68 foals of racing age. It is important to note here that although Space Traveller has the highest number of foals of racing age, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he will have the most runners this year as he may not produce 2 year olds.

The next big sales where the hype will be amplified once again is the breeze-up sales, with all eyes watching which of these new sires (and their now 2 year olds) will breeze well and go through the ring for a big price, and which look to have the most potential for speed on the racecourse. The statistics on each stallion will be updated, which then in turn will affect the betting.

Meet the Team

Tayla Westbrook

New Employee Tayla is in the hot seat this month!

Age & where you’re from:

18 from Surrey

Favourite horse:

Purple Dream, a 2 yo by Dream Ahead. She is very honest, and sweet natured, which is hard to find

Favourite Racing Moment:

A horse I used to look after called LIVINGONAPRAYER, won at Huntingdon on her first ever run  

If you had a fully paid trip to anywhere, where would you go?

Greece, which is pretty boring, but it looks beautiful and I would love to work out there. The sea is amazing

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

I’d love to read people’s minds!

Do you want to spend the season at the races with TWR?

We have the opportunity for you to lease a proven 9yo gelding to race for the season. All the fun without the initial buy in cost.

CAPOTE’S DREAM is a ready-to-race son of Dream Ahead, who has already earned over £130,000 in prize money, with 6 victories and 12 placings under his belt. He has competed at some of the UK's most prestigious tracks like Goodwood, Newbury, and Ascot.

The gelding is a half-brother to 6 winners and he still possesses plenty of enthusiasm for racing, promising many enjoyable days on the track ahead this summer. He raced on the all-weather a few times this winter on a return to racing, and he is now handicapped and ready to take on the turf this summer. There are plenty of opportunities for Capote's Dream to get back to his best.

There are no hidden fees or purchase costs; the only expenses for the season will be his ongoing keep and racing expenses. If you're ready to spend the season ahead at the races in the sunshine, then get in contact today!

HORSES FOR SALE

At Whitehouse Stables we have a selection of different ownership options to suit everyone’s budget. This could be the purchase of a horse outright, or maybe even a smaller share. Please see below a selection of horses on offer at the moment - head to our website or email [email protected] for more information!

PEABERRY (Caturra ex Vetlana)
LAST 7.5% REMAINING! Purchased at Tattersalls Ireland Yearling sale, this strapping colt is a solid son of Caturra, the exciting first season sire. He is out of the proven Vale Of York mare, Vetlana, whose progeny include 3 winners from 3 runners and this colt is the same cross as ACKLAM EXPRESS, the multiple Gr. 1 & 2 placed sprinter.

7.5% left - buy in now! Share price includes all fees until May 2026.

7.5% = £2,425.21

Sergei Prokofiev ex Exacting Filly
Just 17.5% left! This sharp 2yo type is registered for the valuable £20k GBB scheme and her dam, Exacting, is a proven 2yo producer (Doitforandrew RPR 95) and is from a family of good sprinters including DISTINCTIVE, winner of the Gr. 3 Clyde Stakes, and MGHEERA, winner of the Gr. 3 Prix St George & Gr. 2 Temple Stakes.

Shares available ex. VAT - includes all fees until May 2026!