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MUCH IMPRESSED BY COLIN.. Colin was such a splendid race horse and so great a favorite with American patrons of racing that there is bound io be u. lively vntorest.Jiere,-JrihiK fortunejif as a sire in England. Ills sire, Commando, grand-sire Domino and great graudslre Himyar were immediate successes when sent to the stud and if Colin inherits this family characteristic his first crop of two-year-olds should cause some stir in English rac ing two years hence. Recently Sporting Lifes "Our Special Commissioner" visited Colin at Heath House Stud and wrote of the famous American quite culogistically, a part of his observations being: "I have again and again of late declared my- belief that there is no such thing as direct descent in either tail-male or tail-female. For a generation or two it may be in the male line and then branch off into the female line, to revert again to the male. A time will come when we shall have to invent a new system of grouping our thoonighbrods. We have scarcely sufficient knowledge1 to enable us to do so yet. Two or three of us were the other day looking at Colin, both in and out of his box. Hes a typical Springfield, was the observation of one of the party, and the observation was endorsed by another member. If that is so if Colin has actually inherited his chief characters from Springfield, what is the use of pretending that ho comes of the Com-ruando-Doniino-Himyar-Alarm line, just because it happens to be the top Hue in his pedigree? Colins dam, Pastorella, is by Springfield. Then again, take the case of Springfield himself. He was by St. Albans, a son of Stockwell. His coat color, bay, suggests that he favored his dam, Viridis, rather than his sire, who was a chestnut, like Stockwell. Now, Viridis went back in tail. female to Hester, a daughter of Camel. She and the two intervening mares were all browns. In that fact we have prima facie, though not conclusive, evidence of actual descent. Camel was the .sire of Touchstone, and the name of Touchstone crops up again and again in Colins pedigree. "As a matter of fact. Colin traces back to Touchstone in tail-male. I have said that this is not sufficient to justify his being labeled a Touchstone horse, but when it is taken iu conjunction with all the other evidence pointing in the same direction, the chances are that he is ni-operly so labeled. Touchstone was foaled in 1831. There are some people who pooh-pooh the notion that it is as feasible to attempt to discover in-breeding to a horse which belongs to a generation so far back, although they themselves do not hesitate to speak of a horse of the present day as belonging to. say. the Herod family, although Herod was foaled in 1758. It so happens, however, that we have recently been supplied with two very striking examples of the persistency of hereditary characters, although they may lie dormant for several "generations. I refer to the two grays Postumus and Master Graystokc the one by St. Simon and the other by Galopin. There was the gray strain in both these sires, coming to them through Mrs. Ridgway, the dam of Vedette. The moment an opportunity was given it asserted itself. Though both the grays referred to will be classed as descendants of Blacklock, it is practically certain that they are nothing of the kind. "In an article I wrote about Colin when he was retired to the stud in the autumn of 1909. I referred to his pedigree as revealing a concentration of Touchstone blood. Regardiug this statement in the light of the wider knowledge I now possess, or think I liossess, I realize that it stands iu no need of revision. That is. I am afraid, much more than can be said for a good many pronouncements that have appeared in this column. We live and leant. Somebody has remarked that only a fool pretends that he has never made a mistake. I hoie it will never be possible to accuse me of adhering to a false doctrine, because I am afraid to convict myself of ignorance and error. That our theories regarding heredity have hitherto been largely -based on unsound premises is, I firmly believe, undeniable. Whether the discovery of a true and sound doctrine will enable us to Improve on our previous efforts is another matter. One can only hope that it will have that result. Be Colins descent what it may. there Is no getting away from the fact that he is a very lino individual. In all probability he was the best race horse ever foaled in the United States, and that is putting the case pretty high. During two seasons he went to the post on lifteen occasions and was never beaten. "Then Colin came to England. Mr. Keene, his owner, entertained a faint hope that he might be able to show us what manner of horse he was. Leg trouble had asserted itself before he sailed from his uative shores, but there was just a chance that the mischief could lie remedied. . To a certain extent it was sufficiently so to enable Sam Darling to subject Colin to a severe trial, from which he emerged trimm pliant. But that gallop was his last. The old weakness returned and Coljn was, perforce,- turned out of training. He stood last season at the Heath Stud, Newmarket, under the management of Lord- Marcus Beresford-. There he is still, and there he -will le next season also, if alls well. Subscriptions to him for-1912bave already been booked, nis list for the coming season is going very strong: very few nominations to him remain-unappropriated. Those few aro well worth securlusr, .unless I am greatly mistaken. Colin at once tills the eye as a thoroughbred stallion of the highest, class. He"looks the, horse ho proved himself to be when in training. His old .trainer, James Rowe, was recently staying at Newmarket with his friend, Andrew .Toyner. Rowe went to see Colin and expressed himself delighted with his appearance. Mr. Keene, too. lately paid . a llying ..visit to the sludind was entirely satisfied with the progress thand son of Commando Is making. Baron Oppehheim has been another caller, and his approval took the form of acquired subscriptions. Oolin stands just under sixteen hands. He is beautifully moulded and shows splendid quality. He is a very quiet, sensible sort of a horse, and altogether it will be astonishing if he does not make a big name for himself as a sire."
