Lexington and His Descendants, Daily Racing Form, 1906-11-09

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LEXINGTON AND HIS DESCENDANTS. In a long and exhaustive article published-in the Thoroughbred Record John B. Ewing vigorously assails the purists who decry the so-called "tainted" blood of Lexington and conclusively depicts the profound influence of Lexington on the American thoroughbred. In part the article says: "Lexington was the best -sire- we ever had -and I doubt if his equal lived elsewhere. In one season he had out Asteroid, Norfolk and Kentucky, any one of which was greatly superior "to any other horses in training. He was also the sire of Tom Bowling, Harry Bassett, Duke of Magenta; Tom Ochiltree, Kingfisher, Uncas, Preakness, Wanderer, Jack Ma-lone, Pat Malloy, Idlewild, Salina, and a host of the best racehorses of that day. . Of these Pat Malloy got Lord Murpliy, . a grand racehorse, who defeated Falsetto in the Kentucky Derby, which was the only time he was ever beaten; Tom. Bowling sired General Monroe, winner of the first Suburban Handicap; Jack Malone was the sire of the Cup horse Muggins, Nellie Ransom, Oamargo, Eland, etc. Norfolk got the great racehorses Emperor of Norfolk and El Rey; and War Dance was the sire of Modest-, "winner of the first American Derby, Sly Dance, Sachem, Warfield and others. "The above showing by the sons of Lexington in the stud, is much better than that made by the sons of the great broodmare sires Macaroni in England one of whose daughters produced Ormonde or imported Glenelg, who headed the list of winning stallions for four years in this country, and not one of whose sons ever sired a good selling plater, while daughters of each of them were the best broodmares of their day. From which it will be seen that it is not tainted blood that causes some sires to perpetuate their greatness through their female rather -than their male lines, but a provision of Nature beyond our comprehension. Lexington was undoubtedly the greatest sire of broodmares the world has ever seen. "In my opinion the four best horses ever bred or raced in America, and as good as any ever bred elsewhere, were Foxhall, by King Alfonso, dam Jamaica, by Lexington, Luke Blackburn, by Bonnie Scotland, dam Nevada, by Lexington, Hindoo by Virgil, dam Florence, by Lexington, and Salvator, by Prince Charlie, dam Salina, by Lexington. "Hamburg, our greatest American sire, and probably better than any of the imported ones, is by Hanover, whose sire, Hindoo, was out of a daughter of Lexington, Hamburgs dam, Lady Reel, is by Fellowcraft, whose dam Aerolite, was by Lexington. Lady Reel is out of Mannie Gray, by Enquirer, a son of Lida, by Lexington. Mannie Grays dam, Lizzie G., is a daughter of War Dance, son of Lexington, while Lizzie G.s dam is by Lecompte, son of Boston. In Hamburg we have four close crosses of Lexington and one of his sire, Boston. This is the most inbred family to Lexington and Boston in the Stud Book, and the purists have a hard time accounting for It. "The facts are that the daughters of Lexington made the reputations for nearly all the stallions of their day. Bonnie Scotland got Luke Blackburn; George Kinney Glldelia, Aranza and Bushwacker, out of Lexington mares. The best of Glenelgs get were Monitor, Ferlda, Los Angeles, Louisette, Aella and FIrenze, all out of daughters of Lexington, except FIreuae, .whose da.ni was out of a daughter of Lexington. The horse, which made Price Charlies reputation was Salvator, out of Salina, by Lexington. King Alfonsos stud reputation rests largely on Foxhall, out of Jamaica, by Lexington, while the dam of Virgils best son, Hindoo, Is a daughter of Lexington. Phaeton, got his best son, Ten Broeck, out of Fannie Holton, by Lexington. Enquirer, Aristldes, Sensation, Onondaga and Parole, by Leamington, all have Lexington mares for their dams, while Madeline, by Boston sire of Lexington is the second dam of Iroquois and Harold, two other great sons of Leamington, and third dam of Sir Dixon and Belvidere. "After a careful consideration of the whole matter of tainted blood I have reached the following conclusions: There are some families Included In Bruce Lowes list of forty-three, which have never produced a first-class racehorse, and others which have not done so in years. These families should be avoided, even though they do run back twenty crosses -to an Oriental source. Likewise there are short bred families and those of unknown pedigrees in tliis country, such as the Minerva Anderson, Chloe Anderson, Picayune, and. the family from Which Tom Bowling came, which seem to have almost ceased producing good racehorses, and common sense should teach us to drop these families, not because the pedigrees are short, but because they are now non-producing families. We have on the contrary other short bred families, or those crossed with so-called tainted blood, such as the one frpm which came Domino, Hamburg, Yankee, etc The Black Sophia family, from which came General Harding, Bootjack, Bill Letcher, Longitude, Senator Grady, Lady Inez, Proctor Knott, Helen Nichols, Irish Lad, Advance Guard, Yankee Consul, etc., and the Ballet family, which gave us Wagner, Rainbow, Riley, Azra, Modesty, Bright Phoebus, Ben Brush, Prince of Melbourne, etc., that are among the most productive we have, and these we should retain regardless of the purists cry of tainted blood.""


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Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800