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ROYAL QUEST DEMAND Appreciation of Owner Kilmers Beautiful Sister to the Unbeaten The Tetrarch It is little more than three years ago since I began trying to send Messrs Corrignn and Me Kinney in the United States mares that would make their stud equal to what Mr TamesR Keenes had been and witli Miss Elizabeth Daingerfield whose father had managed for his relative Mr Koene In charge of their stud all seemed likely to go well They received sundry gems such as Marion Hood by Martagon Maid Marian dam of Polynieltis with a filly by Prince Palatine and in foal to Sunstar for 10000 and tills too In the year when her threeyearold daughter Suii bonnet by Sunstar won the Kentucky Oaks and many other races but the best bargain of all by far to my mind was the beautiful sister to The Tetrarch in training and absolutely sound an a threeyearold in the spriifg of 1917 for 7rOO She had never run having gone slightly amiss art a two yearold just I efore i nice for which she was being trained but her owner Mr Kennedy was confi ¬ dent about her future if only there were racing in England Be that as it may I bought her for 1500 guineas and thought so much of her that having authority to go to 2000 guineas I had cabled for permission to extend that limit and had received unlimited permission This will be unpleasant reading for Mr Kennedy but it is truth truthAfter After I had bought her for 1500 guineas Mr Tattersall Himself expressed surprise and said he thought she compared favorably with the best fillies of the year I mention these things to illustrate the vicissitudes of value in different countries Messrs Corrigan and McKinney for some reason or other agreed to differ and suddenly sold off their stud But what madness to let this particular filly go casually into the American market where no one knew much about The Tetrarch Marian Hood they of course did know about for Sunbon net had proved the value of her dam and so Marian Hood and her then yearlings made three times what they cost but the sister to The Tetrarch then named Royal Quest made only 5000 Could any ¬ thing be more ridiculous She would at that time have made 25000 possibly more1 in England EnglandI I wrote out to get on track of the purchaser and later her breeder Mr E Kennedy asked me if she could be bought but from Miss Daingerfield I learned that she was bought by Mr Willis Sharpc Kilmer and that he is not likely to turn over his purchase How little use there is in trying to buy Royal Quest may be judged from the fact that in the Souvenir Book of the Sun Briar Court Stud Mr Willis Sharpe Kilmer has selected one out of thirtyrcight of his brood mares for a full page Illustration and that one is Royal Quest He prob ¬ ably would not sell her for any price at all and the annoying tiling is that he should have bought her for actually 500 guineas less than I had to give for her in this country Such is bloodstock breed ¬ ing however and both Mr Corrigan and Mr Mc ¬ Kinney will probably live to regret the day when they suffered their stud to be dispersed W Alli ¬ son in London Sportsman
