NEWS
Harbinger sold to Japan
Posted: Thursday, September 02, 2010 2:20 PM
Record-setting Group 1 winner Harbinger has been sold to Shadai Group, which plans to stand the four-year-old Dansili (GB) colt in Japan..
Harbinger ran for trainer Sir Michael Stoute and owner Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, racking up six wins from nine career starts and $1,191,389 in earnings during two seasons.
He suffered a career-ending injury on August 7, fracturing his left front cannon bone during a routine gallop at Newmarket.
“There were a number of top stud farms from both home and abroad involved in the negotiations and there was a very strong bid to keep the horse in England,” Highclere director John Warren said. “Unfortunately for the British bloodstock industry, the final bid form the famous Shadai Group, where Sunday Silence stood, was far too strong to be able to compete.”
Warren said Harbinger will ship to Japan in a few months after recovering from his injury.
Harbinger was the world’s top-ranked horse from the period of February 1 to July 28 by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities due in large part to his 11-length victory in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Eng-G1) on July 24 at Ascot. Harbinger set a record for 1½ miles at Ascot, covering the distance in 2:26.78 in his first test at the highest level.
Bred in Great Britain, Harbinger is one of three winners from five starters out of the stakes-winning Bering (GB) mare Penang Pearl.
