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EFFECT OF DEATH. OF GREAT SIRE. Most Famous Representative of Matchem in America Removed by Passing of Hastings. "By the deatli pf Hastings the most famous representative of the"Matchcm.. line in America has been removed. It is a fact well known to all students of thoroughbred horse pedigree that the mala line founded by the famous race horses, Eclipse, Herod and Matchem, have dominated the English turf for generations," writes C. E. Bross-man. "Rivalry existed among breeders in those times as well as now, eacli claiming superiority for his own. particular strain, but as time went on and the blood of the descendants of these great sires became intermingled, the increasing potency of the blood of each became manifest, until now breeders desire to have their horses trace back to all of these celebrated sires as many times as possible. "Matchem was the best representative of the Go-dolphin Arabian line, and the latter was the last Oriental horse from which the British turf derived positive and permanent advantage. The early English breeders found the Arabian stock to constitute an excellent cross upon the Barb, Turk and Spanisli marcs, the foundation stock of the British turf. The Royal Spanish horse was a descendant of Oriental stock of Barb and Moorish origin, therefore it is not improbable that the wild horses of the western plains the mustags and ponies of Texas and Mexico were descendants of horses that escaped or were turned loose from the ill-fated expedition commanded by De Soto, when, as the first white man, he gazed upon the waters of the broud and beautiful Mississippi. "It is not unreasonable, therefore, to suppose that the vigor and endurance discovered in these ponies by the army during the recent invasion into Mexico can be attributed to the Oriental blood in them descended from their ancient ancestors and by constant imbreeding remained reasonably pure, deteriorating only through want of feed and attention. From the Arabian blood was acquired speed, from the Barb stoutness and stride, while from the Turk was obtained increase in height and length. Of all the foreign stallions imported into England in an early day the fame of the two great Arabians, the Darley and the Godolphin, has swallowed up all the rest. The best English and American horses trace many times to the blood of these two horses and it has been an everlasting benefit to breeders everywhere. How the Godolphin Arabian Was Imported. "The Godolphin Arabian was imported into England by Mr. Cook, and it was strongly suspected that lie was stolen, as no pedigree was obtained with him or the least item given as to his history. The only notice given was that he was foaled in 1724. He was eventually presented to the Earl of Godolphin, at whose stud he was kept as a vassal to Hobgoblin, the premier stallion of the establishment, but no mares were ever sent to his court, until one day Hobgoblin refused to cover Roxana and she was given to the embraces of the Arabian. The product was the beautiful, elegant and sensational race horse Lath, in the general opinion of the horsemen of that day the best that had appeared on the turf since the days of Flying Childers. The Arabian continued to serve for the remainder of his life in the same stud, producing yearly a succession of high-class horses and when he died in 1753, in his twenty-ninth year, he was decently buried and cakes and ale were given at his funeral. "The complete Matchem male line, as it comes to us, from the Godolphin Arabian down, is as follows: Godolphin Arabian, Cade, Matchem, Conductor, Trumpeter, Sorcerer, Comus, Humphrey Clinker, Melbourne, West Australian, Imp, Australian, Spendthrift and Hastings. "We are informed by the archives of the turf that Sorcerer and Comus were blind, that Humphrey Clinker roared, and that Melbourne had bad legs, but prominent sires in the other lines were not without their infirmities. Lexington was blind, Virgil was blind, and Prince Charlie was a roarer three of the best sires ever in America. For a groat number of years imported Australian was about the only representative of the Matchem male line we had in the United States, but in 1880 the late Mr. J. B. Haggin, always alert to the best breeding interests of the country, imported into California, from Australia, the great race horse Darebin, by The Peer, which was a son of Melbourne, imported into Australia from England. Melbourne, the sire of West Australian, the first winner of the Triple Crown, and the best three-year-old in England in 1853. and The Peer was one of the most famous sires of all time; his get won the Derby twice, Oaks tlirec times, St. Legcr twice, 2,000 Guineas twice, 1,000 Guineas twice Doncaster Cup, Great Metropolitan Cup twice. Goodwood Cup twice, Ascot Cup twice and Cambridgeshire Cup, siring the winners of nineteen of the great classical events of England. Australian. Good Race Horse and Sire. "Imported Australian was a good race horse and a great sire. Among other noted horses, Spendthrift, Fellowcraft, Wildidle, Rutherford, Springbok, Baden Baden, Farfaletta dam ol Falsetto, Maggie B. B. dam of Iroquois, were sired by him. While this line has never been so popular or its descendants so numerous as that of the lines of Eclipse or Herod, it is indeed one of great merit, for, as a rule, mures by horses of this male line have alwavs proved their value in the stud, and when we recall that Beeswing, Giantess, Brown Agnes, Penelope, Miss Twickenham, Blink Bonny, Maggie B. B., Farfaletta, Emma C. dam of Commando, and a host of other sturdy producers were sired by horses that trace to Matchem, we must admit that, whatever objections to it are, these daughters have played a mighty important part in the historv of the turf, and no doubt the daughters of Hastings, in years to come, will be eagerly sought after and highly prized as successful stud matrons. "Hastings, like his sire Spendthrift, was a good race horse and after being retired from racing and placed in the stud, commanded a prominent position as .1 sire from the first year his progeny appeared on the turf. The first of his get came to the races in 1901, and in that year he had out eighteen winners of 0,908, a remarkable number for an untried sire. From that time on he has always occupied a prominent position among the winning sires and in 1902 and 1903 stood at the head of the list. Each year he has had out high-class race horse3 and reliable money-winners, which will continue to win for years- to come, for some of the crack two-year-olds of this year are by Hastings and more are yet to come. As it is his get have won up to January 1, 1917, the enormous aggregate of ,147,793, and no one can tell what it will be when the returns are all in;"
