Fortunate Among Englands Owners: Incidents in the Career of One Who Has Reaped the Highest Honors of Racing, Daily Racing Form, 1917-12-24

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; 1 FORTUNATE AMONG ENGLANDS OWNERS Incidents in the Career of One Who Has Reaped the Highest Honors of Racing. "Mr. Falrie," an assumed name which but thinly veils the identify of A. W. Cox.is in the happy position of heading the list of winning owners and his aggregate of 11,751 sovereigns is in a limited season a large one, although not comparably with those of 1909, when his winnings in stakes amounted to 37,719 sovereigns and the following year, when the total reached 38,532 sovereigns. The name of "Fairie" is written large in turf history since his colors were first registered in 1887, prior to which he had had practical experience of the rough life inseparable from gold mining in Australia: not that he lias any cause to regret such hardships, for it was there that he brought off the greatest coup of his career. The story has a spice of romance in it, for in the settlement of a debt of honor, he took over some apparently worthless shares In the Broken Hill mine which not long afterwards unexpectedly turned out to be a big fortune. On returning to England the love of sport asserted itself and at the time when, as trainer for J. II. Ilculdsworth, Douglas Baird and, if memory serves me, Mr. Wallace. James Ryan was in the forefront Of his profession, the newcomer started on a remarkably successful career. His first winner was Isobar and from small beginnings his luck followed him steadily from the hind of the Southern Cross, until lie had to be counted among the most conspicuous patrons of the turf and gradually became imbued with the laudable ambition to breed his own horses, relying. I fancy, to some extent on the advice of Mr. Houldsworth. Thus, after a few years experience in 1895, to be exact Mr. Fairie had the satisfaction of seeing his orange sleeved white jacket placed in the van for the first time by a home-bred filly named Galleottiii, by Galopin Agave, that won the One Thousand Guineas, beating La Sagassc, which, however, turned the tables on her in the Oaks and later she produced good winners at the stud. A GREAT BROODMARE. In the following season came Eager, one of the speediest horses of modern times, and although he began modestly by running third for the "Brockles-by," and could never get more than a mile, the son of Enthusiast won in the course of his career twenty races worth close on 11,000 sovereigns before he was sold to L. Neumann. There have been conspicuous instances of broodmares which have proved the foundation of successful studs, as for example, Lily Agnes, which produced Sor the late Duke of Westminster that equine phenomenon Ormonde; Mowerina. dam of the Duke of Portlands Donovan, and Perdita II., which, through her alliance with "St. Simon, presented his late Majesty King Edward with the three famous brothers, Florizel II., Persimmon and Diamond Jubilee. Another such is Galicia, a daughter of Galopin Isoletta. which beyond winning a race at Ascot did not accomplish much in her racing career, which extended over two years only. At the stud, however, she has proved another "gold mine" as the dam of Bayardo, by Bay Ronald, and Lemberg, by Cyllene. Of these sires the former, a winner of the City and Suburban, was no great race horse, and in France became a sire of winners, but Cyllene, on the contrary, was a veritable champion on the race course, winning among other races, the Gold Cup in 1S99, and William Jarvis, who trained him, would tell that it was lucky for Disraeli, winner of the Two Thousand Guineas, Jeddah, winner of the Derby, and AVlldfowlcr, winner of the St. Lcger, that he had no place in the classic events of his year. At the stud he left a remarkable record behind when he went to the Argentine, having sired Cicero, Minoru, Lemberg and Tagalie, all Derby winners. BAYARDO S GREAT CAREER. It is worth noting that Bayardo and Lemberg both made their debut at Ascot, trained by Alec Taylor at Mauton, whither Mr. Fairie sent his horses in 1905. It was three years later that Bayardo started his brilliant career, and inclusive of the National Breeders Produce Stakes at Sundown, the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood, and the Middle Park and Dcwhurst Plates he won all his seven engagements practically unchallenged. That he should have won Minorus Two Thousand Guineas is. my opinion, and Maher always contended that he would have won the Derby but for the interference he met with owing to the scrimmage caused by the fall of Sir Martin when approaching Tottenham Corner. After that it was all plain sailing, as the colt picked up the winning thread again in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Ascot, and went on to win ten more races in succession, including the St. Leger, all in such decisive fashion that he retired for the winter admittedly the champion three-year-old. As a four-year-old he won in succession the Newmarket Biennial, the Chester Vase after a close race with William the Fourth, the Gold Cup, running away from the French horse, Sea Sick, and Bachelors Double, and the Dullinghnm Plate. Then came a tragic finale to a great racing career, when the odds of 20 to 1 laid on him for the Goodwood Cup were flukily floored by Magic. Bayardo went to the stud at 301 guineas, and died from paralysis not long since, full of promise at the time, and leaving a worthy successor in his son. Gay Crusader. In all he won stakes of the value of upwards of 43,500 pounds and, with ordinary luck, might have created new records at the stud. LEMBERG A DERBY WINNER. His half-brother Lemberg was perhaps a better-looking horse than he, but not as good a racer. He began auspiciously with ail easy victory In the New Stakes and went on to squander the others in the Rous Memorial Stakes at Goodwood, after which he started coughing and had not completely shaken off the effects at Doncaster, for admitting that Neil Gow was his equal, he certainly must have been below par to have been beaten by Admiral Hawke in the Champagne Stakes as, indeed, was subsequently demonstrated when he easily reversed the placing in the Middle Park Plate, after he had won the Rous Memorial at the First October meeting and later he made an example of Whisk Broom, his only opponent, for the Dewhurst Plate. As a Uiree-year-old Lemberg came out first for the" Two Thousand Guineas and no one who saw that race will ever forget the extraordinary battle between him and Neil Sow. It was a match between them all the way and they raced together, neck and neck from the fall of the flag, with the result that as the post was reached the head of Neil Gow showed a few inches in frout, Mahers stroke of the whip falling a stride before and that of Dil- Ion a stride after they had passed the Judge. This form was. confirmed later in the Eclipse. Stakes, when they ran a dead heat, but in the meantime Lemberg had won the Derby from Greenback, with Neil Gow unplaced. Except for the Grand Prize of Paris, when he got stuck in some boggy ground, Lemberg was only once beaten afterwards, namely in the St. Leger, when third to Swynford and Bron-zina, but as a handsome set off he won the St. James Palace Stakes at Ascot, the Jockey Club Stakes, the Champion Stakes and the Lowther Stakes at Newmarket and the Sandown Park Foal Stakes. Nor was this the end, for in his third season, although twice beaten by Swynford and once by Stedfast, he won the Coronation Cup at Epsom, the Doncaster Cup, the Champion Stakes and the Lowther Stakes. ; GAY CRUSADER. Mr. Fairie has owned many other good horses besides those above named, but not until this year one to compare in class with the two half-brothers, for though there were hopes of Kwang Su, he, on the whole, proved disappointing in spite of being a son of Galicia. In normal times Gay Crusader would have swept the board of classic events and would have excelled the records of both Bayardo and Lemberg by joining the select band of triple-crowned heroes. By Bayardo, he is the first foal of Gay Laura and of his only two races last year won the Criterion Stakes from Molly Desmond by a head and would have won in another stride. Except that he was a particularly good-looking horse there was nothing in that form to suggest that Gay Crusader was destined to develop into the champion three-year-old, nor was the idea encouraged by a narrow victory over his stable companion Magpie in the Two Thousand Guineas, in fact, it was whispered by the man in the street there was a better colt at home in Telephus, though I dont for a moment imagine that any such idea was ever held by his trainer. Still, I fancy, Taylor must haYe shared to some extent the surprise engendered by the abnormal mprovemeut afterwards made by the colt, which came on by leaps and bounds after his Rowley mile victory and continued on the up grade to the finish. Nothing was capable of extending him in the Derby and his superiority was then so firmly established that only Kingston Black and Dansellon turned out against him for the September Stakes. The Newmarket Gold Cup was no more than an exercise gallop for him. Then came more canters for the Champion and . Lowther Stakes, and finally the Limekiln Stakes, in which he gave Quarryman a stone and an easy : beating, the .value of which could be gauged by noue but the man on his back. Some critics will say that he has earned a cheap reputation and would , ask. "What has he done, after all?" The answer Is that he has smothered every horse of any age that could be pitted against him, and unprejudiced judges would for the most part declare him not only champion of the year; but worthy to rank among tlie best horses in turf history. He may even be better than was his sire before him, . and that would suffice to place him on a high plane. He is all the greater .becaus6f besides being possessed of splendid speed, he is a thorough stayer, for the combination in. such excellence is rare indeed. In My Dear, by Beppo Silesia, Mr. Fairie owns a smart and undefeated two-year-old that has won all her races in convincing style, but she is on rather a small scale, and standing low at heel, may not have the best at fore-feet. Deep Sea, by Bayardt Chaunt, Is a maiden, but a rare good-looking one that may grow Into a first-class colt next year and, I for one, shall follow his career with especial interest. "Aigilant" in Loudon Sportsman.


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