Pervading Influence of Blacklock, Daily Racing Form, 1916-02-14

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PERVADING INFLUENCE OF BLACKLOCK. A horse that sprang from comparative obscurity, in tlie earlier days of last century, into the fame which attaches to the founders of perhaps the great-eat line of thoroughbreds of tlie present day was Whitelock. Owned by the then Sir Mark S.k.-. father of the lirst sir Tatton Bykea and great-grandfather of the present Sir Mark Sykes. the ovvn-r of tlie famous SI. -dine re Stud. Whitelock, by Hani btetoniaa, is now celebrated the wide world over .; -the sire of Blackjack, fr m which every horse which comes in tail male from Galopin or St. Simon is a direct descendant. Whitelock, whl a derived his nan.e from a while lock iu his tail, only ran twice, running second in a heal race fat a Hi Id lit] at Knutsford and winning a plate uf eighty s veieigns four mile beats on the following day. lie had sired a goad winner before Ml ROA, l.iacklock. came on the scene in 1814. Blacklock was the best horset ever owned by ••Squire" Richard Watt, and it is recorded by •"The Druid" in "Pest and Paddock" that in the middle of last century Blackloiks box at Bishop Burton hill "was still pointed out with tape rial reverence; and as the housekeeper guided us. candle in hand, through the half ruined hall, we came to the skeleton room, where the coarse frame of the •terrible brown is mr i aeil aide by side with Mate." The "tei brown" waa, of coarse, Blacklock — officially described as ;i bay — which as a four-year-old won three races in tlie course of two days at York. Two of these races were over four miles and the last .-■ two mile affair. What would be thought, I w nder. in these days of "codled-up" race horses wen an owner to pull a horse out for a four-mile sweepstakes and at an hours interval for a two-mile sweepstakes on the top of a fifty pounds added race over four miles less than twenty-four hours earlier. Yet only three days later, at Doncaster, Blacklock was called upon to run for yet another four mile race, the Doncaster Stakes, which lu- won. On the latter at tt nicon he also walked • vec lor a sweepstakes run over the SI. Leger coins,., and on the following iii li ■ won two more race-, a cwee] -takes of twenty li .-guinea-- each fair miles -nil tic Doncaster Clue i siakis two miles, for each f which he defeatei a -ingle opponent. Blacklock waa a dark bay with lack pniata of great sine and, tarring his lidd.e lead, possession splendid symmetry and grand action. Those who -ay that breeding i- a lottery might well point to Bla block, tor, a- -!i urn, his si!--. Wint kick, by Hambletonlan out of Rosalind, by i Phenom mo:, waa not a performer of much note, i A- fir hi- dam. a mar,- by C riander out of Wi1 1 : Goose, by Highflyer, is ii net recorded thai al eleven years of age -he waa bought b Mr. Mo-- at York Fair for the inadequate sum of "three sovereigns?" • Blacklocka -ire. White] ck. waa himself rather | a soft-legged horse, which accounted for his running 1 only twice, but lie Inherited and passed along to his best -on all the sterling qualities of his own sire i Ilambletonian. Tin- latter, according to Stantons i "Famous Horses.- was never beaten, but that is in I : correct, for he 1st one race out ,, a total ,t . bcveutecu. Among bib sixteen successes was included i the famous match with Diamond for .1.000 guineas over the Beacon course, in which he conceded three pounds and with Frank Buckle tip won by a head. odds of 11 to B were laid on Ilambletonian. which be-loaged to Sir Harry Vane-Tempest, and ran in colors still registered by a member of the familv. "lila • and yellow stripes." Tlie breeding of Ilambletonian was a typical example of the value of mating Eclipse lmrscs with mares combining the blood of Hern1 and Matchem, for he was by King Fergus son of Bclipae out of the Herod line mare. Grev Hlga-flyer, by Highflyer out of a daughter of Matchem In the same way Hambletonlan sired Whitelock out of a mare that combined the blood of Herod anl Matchem. With Blacklock further Herod blood was brought in by his dam. and Blacklock iu turn sired VoltahM from a mare -which was strongly in-bred to Herod, and so it went on. Voltigeur and his grandson. Galopin, both being out of mares strong in Herod blood, as also was St. Simon, while tlie requisite Matchem touch, as well as more Ilerod. was furnished when Pe.rdita II. was sent to St. Simon, and produced to him in turn Florizel II , Iersimmon and Diamond Jubilee. — "Vigilant hi London Sportsman.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1916021401/drf1916021401_2_5
Local Identifier: drf1916021401_2_5
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800