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ENGLISH AMD AMERICAN HORSES. The well-known contributor to the columns of the London Sportsman, Vigilant, makeB a few words spoken to an interviewer ,by Mr . Foxhall Keen the text of a learned discourse on breeding. Americans freely acknowledge their indebtedness to England. If we had not imported the best blood of that country our progress would have been slow indeed. The fact that we are sending horses across the Atlantic to run successfully in the great events of the British turf , shows that we have used imported strains to advantage. Judgment in mating, combined with good climate and care in rearing, is the eecret of success in breeding in America aa well as in Auetralia and England . Those who Baw David Garrick race here will not concedo that he is a better horse than Iroquois was; and Ben Holladay is not the greatest thoroughbred that we have produced. The views of the London Sportsman critic are not free from prejudice, and we make room for them in order that our readers may see the trend of English thought : American trainers and American jockeys have done well and taught us a good deal, but American-bred horses have certainly not beaten our record up to now. The best that we have seen of late years, Disguise II. and Cap and Bells II., are out of mares imported from England, but you would not mention either as in the same category with a Flying Fox or a Persimmon. Then, taking the Americans generally, though they outnumber the Australian importations to this country by at least thirty to one, what results of theirs can we pretend to compare with those achieved by Merman, Maluma, Newhaven, Georgic, The Grafter, Australian Star, etc.? There have been a lot of very useful American horses, but none like the Australians mentioned above. It would be idle for any American to pretend they have bred for many years past a horse to compare with Merman. Ben Holladay was, perhaps, the nearest approach .to it, and, curiously enough, he also at one time was bought by Mrs. Langtry, but was most unfortunately cast by the Vet., and the bargain did not go through. But Ben Holladay did not, like Merman, go on improving-up to eight years old and then quit the turf at the very top of his form. Merman, when he beat Perth II. for the Ascot Club last year in record time.was probably at least twenty-9ight pounds bettor than when he won the Cesarewitch, and where, for that matter, will you find the Ameri-. can horse that has run in three Cesarewitches, won Goodwood, Jockey Club and Ascot Cups and generally slaughtered opposition when it came to dingdong business over a distance of ground. Givo me good old Merman against all the American horses that ever were bred; and as for Aurum well, I have never ceased to regret that he was not able to run in this country. His trainer, W. T. Robinson, got to know, enough about him to say, as he did to me, Aurum is worth all the Australian and other horses put together. But, after all, so long as Mr. Foxhall Eeene recognizes that he cannot hope to beat us except by breeding from imported stock there is no need to take exception to his imaginary remarks. It is a solid fact that were the English government to prohibit the exportation of bloodstock, no other nation in the world would have a decent racehorse after about fifty years, and from that time onward the position would grow worse and worse, each sort degenerating according to the tendency of its country. It may bo urged that David Garrick and Kilmarnock have done good work this season in CONTINUED ON FIFTH PAGE. ENGLISH AND AMEBICAN HOB8E8. Continued from First Page. the interests of the American-bred racehorse, and within certain limitB that iB true enough. Mr. Lorillard told me that David Garrick was the best horse Iroquois not excepted that he had ever sent over to this country, or indeed ever owned, and the son of Hanover did unquestionably put in a good performance when he won the Chester Cup; but when it came to meeting Merry Gal at Epsom he could never extend her, and then hie failure to come up to the scratch at Ascot proved him to be no Merman, while Kilmarnock will have to accomplish a lot more than he has hitherto done before taking rank with Mr, Jerseys old champion. There is no race easier to win than the Alexandra Plate when a horse is fit and can act on hard ground, but the Ascot Cup last year afforded a fair hammer-and-tongs trial over the Cup course against the best French form. Merman fairly reveled in that race, and though he, as UBual, was barefoot when he came victoriously through that tremendous gallop, he was in the paddock next afternoon, without any semblance of soreness, ready to go out for the Alexandra Plate if they would only let him, which, owing to the supposed informality of his entry, they would not. Kilmarnock this year ran in both races, but his Cup effort was a very different affair, consisting as it did of a mere exercise gallop for the first mile of the distance. There ia no question that Merman improved each year and right up to the time when he was retired, nor is there any reason to suppose that we had even seen the best of him. It was the same with Malum a, which was of the same age, eight years, and I have her trainers authority for stating that she was better last season that she had ever been before while in his charge. The older school of American horses were better stayers than the present, simply because long distance racing is no longer encouraged in the States, but good as Foxhall no doubt was when he won our .Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire, he did not train on and it needed no wonder to beat him next year at Ascot, nor did Iroquoia retain his form after his three-year-old season. Turf, Field and Farm.
