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SPAINS GREAT RACING PROGRESS King Alfonsos Winnings This Year 90000 English Horses Bought People have hardly realized as yet that racing in Spain has become a big factor in the further development of bloodstock breeding and this may be shown to some extent in this weeks sales Tht king of Spain has dona wonders for his country ii this respect and he has found in Mr de Neuter the man to assist in such a happy consummation It is one of those backhanded good results of the war but for which of course Mr de Neuter would still iiave been training and running horses in Belgium Xow we find the Spanish meetings at San Sebastian and elsewhere have been absorbing any amount of interest and not only has the king been represented by a champion in Antivari by Seasick Arva which has now been retired to the stud but his majesty has had a great season this year and that too in the face of strong opposition from the French stables which naturally sent their best representa ¬ tives to Spain as racing at home was practically impossible I have before me a list of all the Iorses that have carried the colors of the King of Spain and they have certainly been wonderfully successful At the Madrid autumn meeting the king won every day up to October 10 last Tht total of the royal victories in 1918 amounts to forty five races and 90000 in stakes stakesIn In short it has been amply demonstrated that a racing stable on the continent can be made to pay thoroughly well for it must not be thought that the kings horses were bought regardless of ex ¬ pense on the other hand they were secured at prices which have now left an excellent return 01 the outlay nd Antivari has every prosiiect of de veloping into a famous stallion There is any I nnount of land in Spain suitable for bloodstock breeding and doubt not that they will soon set ts greatstore by racing there as do their relatives in the Argentine Far lie it from me to preach ibout bullfisthting or any other form of sport but ivith the example of Buenos Aires before us we know that racing is an immense attraction to people of Spanish origin and I doubt not that tin mother country will quickly develop a continuous success in the same direction I am not writing this from mere conjecture for I have good reason really to know the facts and the stiles of this week may afford some proof of the truth of this fore ¬ cast castAnother Another thing that has been proved by this war is that a constitutional king is the greatest ami most valued institution ln the world while kings of he autocratic mediaeval type disappear like shad ws in the light of public education The King of Spain is one of the really right sort and there is every reason to hope that be and his people will continue to prosper exceedingly not only in their racing and horse breeding but in every development of the country which may tend to its general well being Spain was the greatest empire in the world and so it might have remained but for unwise rulers and narrowminded religionists A brighter day seems to be opening again for the country and the race and I believe most firmly that the sport of racing will greatly enlarge their outlook outlookThe The above from the pen of Mr W Allison of the London Sportsman who recently bought some twenty horses at the Newmarket sales Most of these horses were bought to go to Spain
