Breeding Establishments in Ireland, Daily Racing Form, 1913-10-25

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BREEDING ESTABLISHMENTS IN IRELAND. Irish-bred horses cut a big figure in English racing and some of the most important breeding establishments of the world are located on the Emerald Isle. A correspondent of an English newspaper on a tour of inspection recently had the following to write concerning several of them: "Although 1 have not so much as seen a race oourse since the Goodwood meeting came to a close, none the less have my days been busily, pleasantly and not unprofitably occupied. On Monday I found myself once more looking at the famous round tower of Kildare, speculating, as hundreds of arche-ologists have done, and will continue to do, as to what its origin was, for what purpose it was intended and by what people it was built. There, at all events, it stands, a slender shaft of masonry, exquisite iu Its proportions, and an abiding testimony to the exceeding skill of its unknown and long since vanished builders. From dreams of the past to vivid realizations of the present there came an instant transition effected by two loud blasts from the horn of the mortor car whigh Col. Hall Walker had kindly sent to take me over to the famous Tully Stud. Thats the nill of Allan away yonder, says our driver, and you see that monument well, that was built by th tenants of the last of the ould family, and all their names, are cut upon the stones inside it, and the Prince of Wales the late King Edward went to look at it in 1S51. Them hills V Theyll just be the Red Hills of Kildare, close by where Chair of Kildare was bred, and thats Doyles Home on your right, and thats Dunnes stables, and do you see that house on your left? Its haunted, and if ever a man sleeps in it something bad will be coming to him, and thats where Colonel Hall Walkers stud farm begins, and yell be seeing some of the stock down under that big hedge. Then, as we turn a sharp corner by the side of a stone-encircled well, our driver tells us that this is St. Brydges Well, and, says he: Yell have heard of that wherever ye come from. As a matter of fact, I had heard of It, and could, moreover, have told him a good many things of which he himself had never heard, for, figuratively speaking, my foot was on my native heath. Here we were, at all events, at Tully, and there was Purcell most enthusiastic of stud grooms awaiting us. So, too. was White Eagle, grown, furnished and filled up into a beautiful specimen of a high-class thoroughbred, full of quality and graceful as ever in the setting on of his head and neck. Very promising, to, are some of his stock; There is, indeed, little doubt that he will he successful as a sire, the less that he is getting plenty of opportunities in the shape of carefully selected mares, amongst those which have visited him this year being Sandblast, Colonia, Queen Mother. Years Folly. Elm Twig and Order of Merit. White Eagle himself Is a beautifully -bred horse by Gallinule 19 Merry Gal 5. by Galopin 3, and was, moreover, a good race horse, picking up well over 15,000 sovereigns in stakes iir thp course of his three sea-sous on the turf. Then came the inspection of Royal Realm 7 by Persimmon 7 Sand Blast, by Sheen 2, and here I must acknowledge that I was agreeably surprised, for the horse has gained in quality and is making up into a really beautiful stallion uniting power, size, reach and scope, with unmistakable class. For the present his fee is OS sovereigns, but I doubt if it will long remain at that figure, for his stock are of exceptional promise. Amongst others, Lady Lightfoot dam of Prince Palatine, Mother Siegel, Cherry Lass and Merry IGal have been mated witli him this season, and here alone are chances such as do not often fall lo the lot of a young and comparatively unknown lire but Royal Koalm will not, I think, long re-ijjain in the category of unknown sires. The bpst o? the yearlings had left before we arrived, but amongst those remaining at home for the present I noticed Sea Eagle, a bay filly by White Eagle Mother Siegel 51. and Kgrctta. a tilly by White Eagle Meta Burke 5. as youngsters 1o which we may have to refer later ou. " The mares and foals I must leave to be dealt with some other time, saying for the present that for make, shape and breeding it would be exeeedinglv difficult to find three such as Lady Lightfoot dam of Prince Palatine by Isinglass 3 Glare 1. dam of Flair. Lesbla and Vivid; Merry Gal 5 bv Galopin 3 Mary Sea ton by Isonoiny 10. and Cherrv Lass .! by Isinglass 3 Black Cherry by Bendigo. With the responsiblity of this huge stud upon his shoulders, a heavy burden lies upon the stud groom, but Purcell makes light of his labors and mav well be proud of the health and condition of the valuable stallions, mares and foals under his charge. "From Tully we motored over to Brownstown to have a look at Earla Mor a typical St. Simon he is now and Fugleman, a horse of enormous power, and then away we went as fast as the motor could go there do not seem to be any police traps nbout in these parts back to Kildare to catch the train for Straffan. where we knew that the ever-hospitable doors of Baronrath were waiting to receive us. Small wonder is it that Mr. E. Kennedy breeds so many winners, for at the Straffan Station Stud the thoroughbred is at home. Huge paddocks one of them is over a mile in length are at the disposal of the young stock, the best of food is theirs and they live a perfectly natural outdoor life, galloping and racing about to their hearts content so much so that they are pretty nearly fit when they go up to Doncaster to be sold, hard and clean in condition, at all events. It was from the style in which the colt used to lay himself down to gallop In the big paddock just mentioned that Mr. K. Kennedy came to the conclusion that The Tetrarch was something more than useful, and I think I may say without Indiscretion that, being so convinced, he suggested that tiie gray son of Roi Herode should be acquired for the royal racing stable; a worthy bearer of the royal colors he would have been. too. That by the way, for here was Roi Herode himself, grayer than ever nearly white, indeed but furnished up into such a horse! Power, quality, truth, of make aud shape, and such a kindly disposition. He was loose in a big paddock and came trotting up to ask for sugar and later on was photographed with Mr. Kennedys little son on his back. With us was an exceptionally sound and critical judge of bloodstock, and after a most searching examination of the horse all that he culd say was 1 dont think I have ever seen quite such a horse in my life. Other people seem to share his opinion to no slight extent, for there is no chance whatever of getting a nomination to the horse until 101C and even for that year his subscription list is nearly full. Roi Herode is a French-bred horse, but what a pedigree is his by Le Samaritan 2 Roxelane 1, by War Dance 1 Rose of York, by Speculum 1 Rouge Rose, by Thormanby 4. I have carried the pedigree back as far as Thormanby because, curiously enough, not a few of Roi Herodes stock show no gray at all. hut do resemble Thormanby both In color and general characteristics. "Symington is another of the Straffan Station Stud sires, but he is so well known: his 1910 crop of two-year-olds won more stake money than those of any other sire, that I need say little about him. beyond noting that, inbred as he Is to Galopin, he is a horse of undeniable class, and distinctly St. Simon in type. He is by Ayrshire S SIphonia 20, by St. Simon 11". Vahrcn 2 is one of the most notable of the Straffan Station mares, for, besides being the dam of Nicola, a marvellously speedy mare, her career was cut short owing to an injury to her knee. The Tetrarch is her son by Roi Herode. to which she is again in foal. With the December sales in view, it was evidently due to us to find another Tetrarch amongst the yearlings. If we could. I dont know that amongst them there is quite such a colt, but I fancy so. too, will other people when he comes into the ring that the great upstanding gray colt by Roi Herode Magnitude has the makings of a race horse. "Others that will, I expect, do well are a brown colt by Symington, Altair by Orme, and a bay eolt by Lally Bannagroe this is the best Lally colt I have vet seen, and I myself am quite iu love with a beautiful filly by Roi Herode Alphabet, a rare runner is this, and valuable, moreover, as a broodmare when her racing career is over. More I should should like to say of our visit to Ireland, but little snace remains. We did, however, see the house Cellbriilge Abbey in which OKelly, owner of Eclipse, lived, and where, too. Vanessa died of love for Dean Swift; and we did see the cracked mirror at Castletown cracked, it is said, by the ro-lleetion on its surface of the form of Satau himself, when disturbed in a friendly chat with the wicked Conolly, by the sudden entrance of a priest lie made a hurried exit up the chimney."


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1913102501/drf1913102501_1_6
Local Identifier: drf1913102501_1_6
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800