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BREEDING DERBY WINNERS UNCERTAIN Probablo Way Not Substantiated in Long History of Blue Riband of English Turf. Lord George Bentinck once said, sarcastically, that the way to breed a Derby winner was to mate a winner of the Derby with a winner of the Oaks. A superficial view would make this appear, at any rate, a probable way of breeding a Derby winner; but breeding, as all who have studied it carefully are aware, is an intricate business which does not readily lend itself to propositions of mathematical accuracy. For instance, Lord George Bentincks formula would, one would think, have occasionally cropped up since the Derby was established in 1780 and the Oaks in 1779, yet in the hundred and thirty-eight Derbys which have been run, including the substituted races of the last three years, there is not one instance of a winner of the great race being by a winner of the Derby and out of a winner of the Oaks; and out of the hundred and thirty-eight winners only sixteen have sired a winner of the Blue Riband of the English turf. I purpose making a few notes respecting the recent winner of the New Derby. I must enter my protest against the statement I have heard made more than once that, if the race had been run at Epsom, the positions of Gay Crusader and Dansellon would have been reversed. With the remark that Gay Crusader is a "commanding" horse, with a strong look of his sire in appearance especially when he is moving I will proceed to give his pedigree, which is deserving of close study. GAY CRUSADER, BY BAYARDO. Dam Gay Laura by Beppo " Galeottla " Galopin " Agave " Springfield " Wood Anemone " King of the Forest " Crocus " Thormanby " Sunflower . " Bay Middleton Bnynrdo, as everyone knows, won the St. Leger from Valens and Mirndor. He was by Bay Ronald, a horse that showed good form and whose best performance was winning the Hardwicke Stakes at -Ascot, a sure test of a horses merit. Bay Ronald won this event by a couple of lengths and it should be remembered that he was by that stout horse Hampton. Galleia, by Galopin, was the dam of Bayardo. She also performed creditably at Ascot, where she won the Biennial in a. big field. fSabri-netta was the favorite and was subsequently second to Cap and Bells for the Oaks. Galleia, which was also the dam of the Derby winner Lembcrg,- was a daughter of Isoletta by Isonomy, whose dam. Lady Muneaster, was the granddaughter of Borealis, daughter of Blink Bonny. She was a consistent performer and won several good races for I Ansons stable, including the Gimcrack Stakes. GAY CRUSADERS MATERNAL LINE. Gay Laura only caught the judges eye once as a two-year-old, when she easily disposed of Desmonds Rose, but she showed some form later in the season, and her second to Mirabeau in the High-clere Nursery Handicap at Newbury was a creditable performance. She was giving him three pounds, which, with sex taken into consideration, is equivalent to six pounds, and lie only won by a neck. But she lost her form as a three-year-old, and her Fernhill Stakes performance at Ascot practically amounted to "walked in with the crowd." Gay Lauras dam, Galeottia, was a classic mare. She won the One Thousand. Guineas, in which she beat La Sagesse by three lengths, but the position of the two was reversed in the Oaks, which La Sagesse won by a length and a half. Galeottia was also the dam of Comus, which had a fair field behind him when he won the Zetland Plate at Newmarket. Agave, by Springfield, was, curiously enough, once the property of Sir Hedworth Meux, the owner of Dansellon. She ran in the best of company, but she never won a race or got placed but once, when it is interesting to note that she ran third and last to Ormonde in the Rous- Memorial at Ascot. Kilwarlin, which subsequently won the St. Leger, was second, and gave her eight pounds. Agave was also the dam of Galeopsls. which showed fine form as a two-year-old, but trained off; of Galliott, winner of the Wynyard Plate at Stockton; and of Bona Dea, by Martagon, the dam of a fair handicap horse in King Midas. BEPPO AN EXCELLENT RACE HORSE. Beppo was by Marco Pitti, by St. Frusquin, her dam, Florence, by Wisdom, which was, perhaps, the greatest handicap horse of her day. Her record of the Manchester Cup. 100 pounce, which she won in a canter by four lengths, and the Cambridgeshire 127 pounds, in which she gave Bendigo four pounds and a head beating, has never been lowered and it must be remembered that she also won the Jubilee Prize at Baden in the same year. Beppo was an excellent race horse. He showed good form in his two-year-old year and his early promise was more than fulfilled in the following year, which he began well by winning the Union Jack Stakes, at Liverpool. He also won the Jockey Club Stakes that year. This was a notable performance, ns he had the Oaks winner Keystone II. and Polymelus behind him. Keystone II., however, was carrying twelve pounds more than the winner and was only beaten a length, so there was probably not much between them. In his last year he won the Manchester Cup and the Harkwicke Stakes at Ascot a capital double event. Sunflower was the dam of Sunbeam, Sunshine. Sunrise, Starlight, Northern Light and others that did good service to Mr. James Merry. It will be noticed that Gay Crusader comes from the stoutest blood to be found in the Stud Book. There is a double cross of Galopin close up, that horse being the sire of both paternal and maternal grandams. There seems to be a great career in front of him. Most of his ancestors have done well on the turf and at the stud, and if he follows in their footsteps, as seems likely, he should make a great mark in the English thoroughbred history. Tlie Derby winners which have sired, one or more winners of the Derby are Sir Peter Teazle 4, Waxy 4, Phantom 2 Election 1, Whalebone 2, Emilias 2, Bay Middleton 2, Orlando 1, The Flying Dutchman 1, Beadsman 1, Blair Athol 1, Doncaster 1, Hermit 2. Bend Or, 1, Galopin 1, and Sainfoin 1. Baileys Magazine.
