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ONE OF OUR OLDEST TURFMEN David Gideon, Who "Won the Futurity with His Highness in 1891, Still Racing Horses. New York, December 23. David Gideon is one of the "old guard" among New Yorks turfmen and the sudden death of his former intimate friend, the late Oscar Lewisohn, has served to bring his name to mind with especial emphasis. For several years Sir. Lewisohn and Sir. Gideon have been stabling their thoroughbreds in the same training stables and the arrangement seems to have continued up to the day of Sir. Lcwisolins death. It is quite a number of years since Sir. Gideon raced one of the most powerful stables on the metropolitan circuit and when he was regarded as the owner to be reckoned with by those who aspired to win the Futurity. In those days he was a liberal buyer of yearlings and was looked upon as always in the market for stake animals whose future looked especially rosy. The victory of that splendid colt His Highness, by -The Ill-Used, brought him especial prominence in .turf circles. The stake was worth 1917.sh1,075 and the runner-up "was that great filly Yorkville Belle. The victory of His Highness was an especially decisive one in practically deciding the championship of the two-year-old division that year, for while this great filly carried 115 pounds, His Highness was carrying the crushing impost of 130 pounds, James SIcLaughlin, now well-known as the popular patrol judge on the metroiolitan circuit, having the mount on the winner. Everything appeared to work against His Highness that day as far as. luck was concerned, for the field was a large one and as the starting barrier was unknown in those days, the youngsters were at the post for more than an hour and Dagonet, which ran third, had only 10S on his back. WON FUTURITY THREE TIMES. Three years later Sir. Gideon won the Futurity with The Butterflies, the fast and game daughter of Sir Dixon and right on the back of that, in 1895, came the victory of that splendid colt Requital in the same race. Harry Griffin, who now is in the " real estate business in San Francisco, rode both The Butterflies and Requital. Sir. Gideon sold Requital, but he retained both His Highness and The Butterflies and as both were richly-bred and splendid individuals, trusting to the almost axiomatic breeding theory that "like produces like," he mated them in the hope of obtaining still another Futurity winner. In this he was disappointed, but the product of this promising cross. Her Sla-jesty, was a remarkably fine filly and has become a valuable broodmare, she being the dam of that splendid horse His Slajesty, now at the head of Gifford A. Cochrans Runnymeade Stud and the beautiful brown filly Admiration, which won as a two-year-old in 1910 and, although she started but three times during the present year, showed especial form in her preparation, although she was unfortunate in her racing. It is probable that she will take a place among Sir. Gideons broodmares during the coming year. It appears altogether probable that this richly-bred mare Her Slajesty, may yet hold a prominent place among the broodmares of this country. Her sire, His Highness, was without doubt the best son of that great race horse and sire The IU-Used, first known on the turf as the Breadalbane colt and a direct descendant in the male line from "The Emperor of Stallions," Stockwell, by The Baron Pocahontas, the famous daughter of Glencoe, winch sired her before he had been brought to this country, where he founded one of the most highly valued of thoroughbred families on tills continent, and from which came Vandal and other great ones in the male line and literally a host of the most valued broodmares to be found in the American Stud Book. Through Virgil, the son of Vandal and his best son as a sire, come Hindoo, Hanover and Hamburg in the male line, not to speak of Tre-mont and many other great race horses of a few equine generations ago, besides many extremely valuable broodmares. In fact, it is a generally accepted theory among breeders that the descendants of Glencoe have been worth millions to the horse breeders of this country. It is not alone through the progeny of Glencoe that the racing strains of this country have been enriched through such sons of Glencoe mares as Gilroy, Kentucky, Norfolk, etc., but through the descendants of Stockwell, which have been brought to this country. All of the many descendants of Bend Or, which through Doncaster came from Stockwell, but those of that wonderful son of Blair Atliol by Stockwell, Prince Charlie and his sons, Pirate of Ienzance, Salvator and Hayden Edwards and grandsons too numerous to mention. Taking only the descendants of Virgil into con- sideration and that one grandson of Glencoe will be found to have been the fountain head of a numerous and invaluable family, for from this one male line come Hindoo, Hanover, Hamburg. Compute, Halma, Tremont, Yankee, Abe Frank and many other high-class sires, while Hamburg dams have become almost a household word among horse breeders. Through The Ill-Used the blood of Glencoe has been brought into this country through a line quite apart from the accustomed channels, furnishing through brief out-cross a return of this highly prized Strain of blood. Through this same strain comes that highly valued blood which has greatly conduced to the rare value of not a few of Sir. Belmonts broodmares produced at the Nursery Stud in Kentucky. On her dams side Her Slajesty brings in Sir Dixon sire of The Butterflies cross, which is one of the best American strains in the Stud Book. A great race horse himself. Sir Dixon was a son of Billet, which was by Voltiguer. which also sired Vedette, sire of Galonin and grandsire of St. Simon. Sir Dixons dam was Jaconet sister to Iroquois by Leamington Slaggie B. B., by Australian. Thus it will be seen that Her Slajesty combines in her pedigree and through top crosses at that strains of blood which are unsurpassable in the American or any other Stud Book. Sir. Gideon has retained ner Slajesty in his small and select stud, and has been breeding her to ids valuable sire, Astronomer. During the past year he had a fast two-year-old filly, Medusa, bv Astronomer Her Slajesty, and now he has an extremely neat and racy-looking brown filly of the same breeding. This filly ought to be fast if quality of conformation, fine racing outlines and high finish count for anything, and her trainer, the veteran John Sliller, entertains a high opinion of her. He also lias a fine looking bay yearling filly by Astronomer Karma, and a neat bay gelding by Astronomer Helen O. C. Sir. Gideon also owns a half interest in the two-year-old chestnut gelding Uranium, by Astronomer Slary Greenwood, trainer John Sliller having bought a half interest in the youngster from him. Sir. Sliller, who has been training this youngster, expects good things of him during the racing of 1918.
