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THE VAGARIES OF BREEDING SUNNY SLOPE AND ASTRONOMER THE LUCK OF THE YOUNG SIRES, THE TETRARCH AND PYLADES; OLD SIRES, BONNIE SCOTLAND AND LEAMINGTON THE PATERNITY OF GALOPIN OLD MARES VS. YOUNG-PERFORMERS VS. NON-PERFORMERS FIRST FOALS By W. S. V0SBURGH "A breeder of race horses cannot tie himself to a stallion not in this country. He can in England, but here there are too many stallions tried, and some one of them is likely to succeed when least expected, and that continues to encourage others to take a chance with any kind of a horse-to make a sire of him." Thus spoke a prominent breeder to us- recently. It was the day Sunny Slope won the Municipal Handicap after having won the Jerome and the Autumn Handicaps at the Belmont Park Septem-. her meeting. We could not deny that there was much in what lie said. In England the "crack" performers receive the bulk of the patronage, and the brood mares of quality are rarely bred to an "outside horse." Breeders pay extravagant stud fees. Gay Crusader stands, at 400 guineas, Polymelia at 300 guineas. Tracery at ".2."Q guineas. Mr. Belmont could not get much patronage for Tracery here at that figure. Hermit began in 1870 at 20 guineas. In 1875 it was "raised to 100; in 1880 to. ir0; In 1SSG to 2r0. After The Tetrat-eh had shown his true form, his sires Roi Herodes fee was raised from 35 to 200 guineas, and his owner booked forty mares to him. .This means an income 6f 0,000 from service fees: " -V In this country there are few breeders who would pay such fees and few who could, afford to do p if breeder for public sale. - "ThcresnltMs thnt-llwj" prefer "taking a chance" with a horse, and horses are bred from which would not be considered if the great performers were not held at such higlb fees. The case cited above of. Sunny Slope is one the breeder had in mind. His sire, Astronomer, was a good fair race horse, ,by Dieudonne, winner of the Middle Park Plate, but he -was not a winner of any great race and was hardly a celebrity. Vet, here he lias sired in Sunny Slope -one of the best three-year-bids of the year. Successful sires often spring up unexpectedly. Billet, when he landed in Xew York in 1808. was advertised for sale for almost nothing. He drifted out into Illinois utterly neglected until he sired Volturno. Then there was a rush to him, and he became the sire of Miss Woodford, Barnes, Runny -mede. Sir Dixon and led the "winning sires" in 1S83. Virgil drew a wagon until he sired Vagrant and Vigil. Then lie became a leading sire. Eolus languished in obscurity until he sired Kole, when lie, too, became the fashionaole sire. Even in England it lias happened. Wisdom was no race horse, but lie became fashiouble. Galliniile, after his two-year-old form, became little better than a selling plater. Yet he became the sire of Pretty Polly, Hammerkop, Sirenia, Phaleron, Wildfowler, White Eagle, Xiglit Hawk, Santry, Sliehe Gallian, etc. FIRST SEASON BEST IN SOME CASES. It is a curious fact that many sires get their best colt in their first "season at the stud. Hiii- don got Hanover in his first season. Alarm got Himyar in his first ?ason. King .Alfonso sired Fonso in his first season, while Octogon got Beldame. In England Sir Hercules got Birdcatcher; Flying Dutchman got Ellington; Wild .Payroll got Buccaneer; Doncaster got Bend Or? Bend Or got Ormonde; Ormonde got Orme; Persimmon got Sceptre: Xewminster got Mustid Derby 1859; Master Kildare got Melton; Orlando got Teddington; Plutus got Flageolet; Bertram got Robert the Devil; The Rover got St. Gatien; Flying Fox got t Ajax. But the most recent and conspicuous case- of the above is furnished in The Tetrnrch. His sire, Roi Herode. fell lame in the race for the Chester Cup in April, 1910. He went from .the training stable direct to the stud, and in that, same season sired The Tetrareh, the speed wonder, of 1913. This is not the only instance of a horse coming out of training and siring a sjiee.d marvel. King Alfonso, while in training at Louisville in 1S75, broke down. He was bred immediately to some of the Woodburn mares and sired Fonso. which won the Kentucky Derby in 1880. King Alfonso never got another as good as Fonso, unless it was Foxhall. Muggins, winner of the Saratoga Cup iu 1S07 and one of the best racers of his .generation was. the result of a chance uniting. His sire. Jack Mnlone, while in active training escaped from his stable at night, and meeting the mare Fannie McAllister the result was Muggins. REMARKABLE CASE OF PYLADES. The case of the English horse Xorth Lincoln is another. Xorth Lincoln, foaled in 1850, was sired by Pylades when the latter was three years old. Now, Xorth Lincoln was considered the , fleetest two-year-old that had appeared up to that time. Over short courses he was practically unbeatable. As a two-yeaf-old he won six races out of nine; as n three-year-old his total winnings were over 2,000. As the sire of such a wonder Pylades- was brought into prominence. He was a highly ?bred colt, being a sou of Surplice, dam by Bay Middle-ton Vitula, by Voltaire. But Pylades was never heard from again! These cases open up the question whether or not a horse under the strain of training is as capable of siring as good racers as one not under such treatment. It bus generally been thought that such a horse was under too great a strain. But, on the other hand, it must be remembered that training excites the nervous system and that it is a highly nervous organization that conduces to great speed, which is, in these days, the chief consideration. Certainly a young, vigorous horse in. a high state of health and spirits should be more desirable than some of the old stallions long retired from the excitement of training and racing and which frequently are as fat as an or and as sluggish as one. On the other hand, there are many cases showing that advanced age in a stallion is no bar to his begetting high-class race horses. Bonnie- Scotland got Luke Blackburn at the age of twenty-three, and George Kinney one of the toughest race horses I ever saw at twenty-five years old. Lexington was twenty-four when he got Duke of Magenta; Leamington was twenty-four when when he got Iroquois the Derby winner; Kingston was twenty-three when he got Xovelty. In England Hermit got his best son, Friars Balsam, when he was twenty; Vedette got Galopin when he was eighteen; Lord Lyoii got Minting at nineteen; Stoekwell was twenty when he got Doncaster. while Sir Hercules was twenty-eight wiien lie sired Lifeboat. A rather odd case is that of Falsetto in this country. The lest racers he sired were Dewdrop at six years old and Tin? Picket ut twenty-three. The success of inbred stallions lias latterly attracted considerable attention. Of course all race horses are inbred, but it is a matter of degree. Hence, we need not consider it here, but on the subject of inbreeding we mentioned recently in your paper that the late Dr. Shorthouse always maintained that Galopin was not by Vedette, but that he was a son of Delight. In this belief the late Mr. John Corlett shared, and I remember that Lord Falmouth was also quoted as believing that Galopin was by Delight. If a fact, it would have been no disgrace, for Delight was a very fast horse. He won the City and Suburban of 1800, and broke down while training for the Derby. The fact that Vedette and Delight were located in the same neighborhood; that Mr. Sharpe had mares that year bred to both horses: that Vedette had only four foals that year 1872 while Delight had five; that Galopins dam had previously some four or five foals" by Vedette, of which Vex was tlie only one to show any form; that Galopins brother foaled five years previously had started nine times and was neyerplaced these considerations were urefd, and it was also said Oalotiiri resembled Delight more than he did Vedette. Now. if Galopin was a sou of .Delight, he was a much inbred horse. Delight was a bay colt by Ellington, the Derby winner. Ellington was a son of The Flying Dutchman. Galopins dam. Flving Duchess, was a daughter of The Flying Dutchman. Thus the mating that produced Galopin would be mating Delight to a half-sister of his own sire an aunt, so to speak. This is certainly prettv close breeding, and it was claimed to be the cause" of the excessive nervousness of the Galopins. But even if Galopin was by Vedette, as he was represented to be, lie was still a much inbred horse, for 1kUi his grandsire, Voltigenr, and his granddam, Me-rope, were by Voltaire, a son of Blacklock. His son, St. Simon, brought to tiie pedigree a third cross of Blacklock through his third dam, by Hornsea. It might be mentioned here as curious that Delight was reported as dead iu the Racing Calendar of 1800. yet we find him reiwrted as the sire of foals five and six years laer. SOME WONDERFUL OLD MARES. We often hear it stated that a brood mare produces inferior foals after she has readied the age of fifteen years or thereabouts. Here are some cases to the contrary; Alice Canieol produced Umpire at twentv-one years, Leeompte, his sire, being at that time of son-Ice six years old. Blue Bonnet, by Hedgeford, produced Lightning when she was eighteen. Thunder ut nineteen, Lond-stone at twenty-one .and Lancaster at twenty-four. Gloria nn, by American Eclipse, produced her best, Pat Mallory. when she was nineteen. Lavender, by Wagner, produced Baden Baden at nineteen, his sire at time of service fifteen. Magnolia, by Glencoe, had fourteen foals, her first at six years old,, but he.r. best.. .Kentucky, when she was twenty, his sire, Lexington, at time of service ten. Magenta, by Yorkshire, had eleven foals, her best, Duke of Magenta, at eighteen." Lexington, his, sire, twenty-four. Topaz, by Gle.ncoe, had eleven foals, among them Colton, Lodi and Areola, but had her liest. Rivoli, at twenty. Revenue, his sire, lteing also twenty. Daisy Cropper, by Ogles Oscar, foaled the celebrated Omega at twenty-three, his sire, Timo-lion, nineteen. Mannie Grey, by Enquirer, foaled Domino at seventeen. Himyar, his sire, being sixteen at service. Minnie Minor, by Lexington, foaled Wanda at twenty-one, Mortemer, her sire, being sixteen. In England among tlie mares of advanced age which have foaled nice horses of high class are: Cressida. by Whiskey, produced Priam at twentv. his sire. Emilius, being six years old at time of service. Alice Hawthorne, by Muley Moloch, foaled Thor-manby when she was nineteen, Windhound, his supposed sire, being nine. Octaviana, by Octavian, . liud fourteen foals, her last and best. Crucifix, when she was twenty-two, her mate, Priam, being nine. Ellermire, by Chanticleer, foaled The IU Used imported to America when eighteen. Breadalbane. his sire, being seven. Mandane, by Pot-8-os, produced Lottery and Brii-tandorf at twenty and twenty-one. Tramp and Blacklock, their sires, being nine and six respectively. Flying Duchess, by Flying Dutchman, foaled Galopin when she was nineteen, Vedette, his sire, being seventeen. Guiccioli, by Boh Booty, foaled Faugh a Bal-lagh at eighteen. Sir Hercules, his sire, being fourteen at service. Ferina, by Venison, foaled Pretender at twenty-two, Adventurer, his sire, being six. But some celebrated race horses have been produced by young mures; for example: Fanny McAllister, by OMeara, foaled Muggins when she was five a chance cover Jack Malone, his sire, being four. Sarong, by Lexington, foaled Aristides a first foal at five years old and never threw a good one afterward. Jessie Dixon, by Arlington, foaled Xarragansett at six, Eclipse, his sire, being ten. Nemesis, by Eclipse, foaled Rhadamunthus at seven; Leamington, his sire, was eighteen. FAMOUS AND LONG-LIVED MARE. Nina the famous race mare, by Boston, had fifteen foals and died at the age of thirty-one, Plamet, her best, she foaled when seven. Revenue, his sire, being eleven; but she foaled Algerine when she was twenty-five, Abd-el-Kader, his sire, being seven. Jamaica, by Lexington, foaled Foxhall at seven, his sire. King Alfonso, being only five. Nevada, by Lexington, foaled Luke Blackburn at eight; his sire, Bonnie Scotland, was twenty-three. Continued on second page. THE VAGARIES OF BREEDING Continued from first page. Maggie B. B.. by Australian, foaled narold at nine and Iroquois at eleven, their sire, Leamington, twenty-two and twenty-four. Afric Queen, by Darebin, foaled Africander at five; Star Ruby, his sire, was eight. Katie of the West, by Spendthrift, foaled Hermis at four, Hermance. his sire, eleven at service. Among the English mares which have produced great performers at an early age are: Lady Langden produced Hampton at four; his sire, Lord Clifden, eleven. Peri produced Sir Hercules at four, Whalebone, his sire, being nineteen. Monstrosity produced The Ugly Buck at three, his sire. Venison, being seven. Trampoline produced Glencoe at six; his sire, Sultan, was fourteen. Banter foaled Touchstone at five; Camel, his sire, was eight. Moweriua foaled West Australian at seven, his sire, Melbourne, being fifteen. Arcadia foaled Cyllene at eight, his sire. Bona Vista, being five. Vampire foaled Flying Fox at six, his sire, Onne, being the same age. Atalanta foaled Ayrshire at six, Hamilton, his sire, being thirteen. Isola Bella foaled Isonomy at seven, Sterling, his sire, being six. Blink Bonny foaled Blair Athol at seven, his sire, Stockwell, being eleven. Vulture foaled Oriando" at eight, his sire, Touchstone, being nine. Muid of the Mint foaled Spearmint at six, his sire, Carbine, being seveuteen at time of service. Whether high-class racing form Is necessary in a broodmare is an open question. We would all prefer it. Yet it is a known fact that great horse as he was St. Simons dam would not stay and was a failure as a racer. The dams of Isonomy, Harcaldine, Ard Patrick, Cyllene. Amadis, Santoi, William the Third, Blue Gown, Robert the Devil, Petrarch, Surefoot. Sceptre. Sunstar and Donovan were all mere sprinters. Worse still, the dams of Carbine, .Gladiateur, Onne. Spearmint, Isinglass, Beppd. Bend Or. Macaroni, Pilgrimage. Apology, Amphion, Wiiikfields Pride and Sundridge never started for a race. Opposite to this, Blair Athol, Doncaster. Atlantic, Heine, Spinaway, Busybody, Meddler, Swyn-ford, Roi Herode, John o Gaunt, Ormonde, Canterbury Pilgrim and Jeddah were from mares of high-class form when they raced. Swynford is really a triumph of breeding. His sire, John o Gaunt, was second for the Derby and was by Isinglass Derby 1893 La Fleclie Oaks and St. Leger 3802. Swynfords dam, Canterbury Pilgrim Oaks 1S00, by Tristan Pilgrimage, winner of the Two Thousand and One Thousand of 1S7S. As Mr. Squeers would say -"Heres richness!" Years ago, and even now, some racing men dislike the first foal of a mare as a racing proposition. Yet u large number of first foals have raced with distinction; among them four Suburban winners, . viz., Gen. Monroe, Pontine, Africander and Hermis. In addition. Planet, Berthune. Runnymede, Aristi-des. American Eclipse and Foxhall were all first foals, and Foxhalls dam was herself a first foal. In England a great many noted race horses were first foals, namely, Vedette, Pot-S-os, Dr. Syntax, Sorcerer, Sultan, Sir Hercules, Catton, The Colonel, Taurus, Filho de Puta, Touchstone, Melbourne, Liverpool. Ion, The Baron, Kingston. Fandango, Wild Dayrclli Hampton, Favonius and Master Kildare. Having reviewed the subject of breeding from so many different angles what have we proved? Absolutely nothing. For every case of a young sires success one can show the success of sires of advanced age. And so with brood mares. For every case of the success of a noted race marc as a producer one can show more mares which were utter failures as racers yet have bred great race horses, and many more which never raced have succeeded in the stud. Some sires have made their reputation their first year in the stud, like Ormonde and Persimmon; others, like Lord Lyon and Bonnie Scotland, are twenty years old before such sons as Minting and Luke Blackburn are born to them. Some of the greatest racers, like Salvator hero and Gladiateur abroad, proved absolute stud failures, while a racing failure like Gallinule is twice leader iif the "Winning Sires." And yet there are gentlemen who wonld teach us that the bre.edlug of race horses is an exact science. ,
