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PRETTY POLLYS GREATNESS GREATNESSfc fc = rr Career and Antecedents of Fa ¬ mous English Racing Figure Won Many Eaces Obscurely Bred Granddam Gaze Gave Turf Winners of 1316873 BY E K COUSSELTI COUSSELTILONDON LONDON England May 5 Pretty Polly by Gnlllnulc Admiration was universally acknowl ¬ edged one of the greatest marcs which ever trod the British turf She is probably the only filly to have a volume written about her achievements Ilrcd by Major Eustace Ixlw she was an unbeaten two yearold winner of nine races including1 the Middle Park Plate Indeed during four seasons in Kngland elie won twentytwo straight races meeting with defeat in her last race the Ascot old Cup when not at her bent she succumbed to Jinchelors Button Button ButtonPretty Pretty Polly won some of her races by such tre niondous margins that the onlookers wondered If there had been a false start The best of either sex which could compete against her received no mercy For instance Pretty Polly was successful in all the classic races in which she was engaged She easily won the One Thousand Guineas and the Oaks the veidict in her favor in each instance being three lengths In the St Legcr with odds of 5 to 2 laid on her Pretty Polly led from end to end and won pulling up by three lengths beating the Derby winner St Amant as well as St Dennis third in the Derby by more than ten lengths When she won the Coronation Cun in 1905 she defeated Zin fandel by three lengths covering the Derby course in 233 which time never has been beaten in tic Derby the best on record being I embergs 235Vf 235VfA A recital of her winning record would be monoto ¬ nous Suffice it to state that Pretty Polly won twentytwo races and stakes value 180475 Yet it is on record that her grauddam flaze was pub liclr sold at Newmarket for 35 It happened in this wise wiseOasse Oasse originally known as Thirty of Beauty ran once only As a twoyearold shy was sixth in a field of eight in a small race at Warwick November meeting She passed into the possession of Mr Kobort Ieck who was so intimately associ ¬ ated with the triumphs of Marie Stuart and Don caster Mr Peck who owned the Howbury Hall Stud near Bedford sent Gaze when a threeyearold to be bred to Mnncaster and in 1800 she produced a brown colt That year and also in 1811 Gaze was bred to Saraband which stood for a season or two at ITowbnry Hall The produce in 1S2 was a chestnut filly named Admiration Coming up for nale as a yearling Major Lmler gave fJrr for Admiration SIio was a winner of a couple of races Her brother Montspensier was successful in four races Gaze did not fail to produce each year from 1802 to 1899 But the only other one of her pro ¬ duce able to win was Space which carried off a small race over the hurdles as a threeyearold threeyearoldMr Mr Peck died in 1899 All his mares and foals raijHiiii for sale at auction at Newmarket December 7 1899 For the most part they realized miserly prices so it is obvious they were in poor condition Consequently some of the animals turned out re ¬ markable bargains and a number of fascinating stories of the romance of bloodstock breeding could be written about hem Gaze which had been brd to Pcuzanre in 1S99 was sold to Mr Cash for 3o a ridiculous price for a thirteenyenrold mure which had never missed at the stud Evidently the buyer soon tired of her for in less than a month she was up for sale at Tattersalls in Ix iidon when Mr Edward Woodland a noted trainer of steeplechasers gave 75 for her He however was soon finished with Gaze for he shortly afterward sold her as a hack Sucli is the story of a mare whose only daughter to go to the stud earned undying fame in the history of the thoroughbred and through which a 35 mare was destined to exercise no little influence not only on the British turf but on the continent in the United States in Argentina and in the British colonies in the latter instances through her descendants Nassovian Craganour King John in New Zealand and The Sybarite and Chipilly in Australia AustraliaAdmiration Admiration Pretty Pollys mother raced in Ire ¬ land where she won two thirdclass handicaps She bred nine winners Pretty Polly Vcijeration II Admiral Hawke Adula also the dam of Knock feerna and Mountain Mist the winners of 48GSO Admiral Crichton Coriander Addenda Aderno and Miranda also the dam of King John which won the Irish Derby of 15DOO in a canter by six lengths in 1918 Altogether Admiration produced thirteen foals Her early ones were no good Mirmonde ran but did not win Adorna was not raced and was sold to Hungary with her first produce The fourth foal was Cock o Hoop a brother to Pretty Polly He was difficult to train and only ran once He proved unable to utilize the fine chances he was given at the stud studJust Just to show the influence of Gaze it is worth referring to Veneration II which for many years was one of the grandest matrons in the Sledmere Stud Seven of her produce were sold at auction for an aggregate of 13807r In addition her Tra ¬ cery yearling filly of 1917 was sold privately to Mr W It Coe Veneration II is immortal in equine history through the achievements of ber world tt mous sou Craganour hero of the most amazing Derby in the story of Englands greatest classic race raceCraganour Craganour was a sensational horse in truth lie was remarkably unlucky also It is doubtful if he was really beaten a short bead as recorded in the Two Thousand Guineas He was disqualified for the Derby Immediately after that happened Senor Martinez de Hoz gave 150000 for the son of Des ¬ mond which was forthwith sent to his Argentina stud He was second in the Argentina sires list in 1919 with the winners of over 145000 Veneration II also bred Glorvina who beat Prin ¬ cess Dorrie as a twoyearold and ran second to her in the Two Thousand Guineas Glorvina subse ¬ quently won the Arcot Gold Vase run over two miles beating A good field Another son was The Sybarite who is siring highclass winners in Aus ¬ tralia He was the toppriced yearling of his season in England Indeed several of the produce of Veneration II made the highest figures of their years Sho was of course alo the dam of Mr Sanfords good colt Nassavian which ran third in the Two Thousand Guineas and the Derby Later on lie won the Princes of Wales Stakes worth 18000 at Newmarket Nassovian is now located at Mr Sanfords Hurricana Farm Amsterdam N Y YAll All these remarkable successes have been achieved in the last twenty years A study of the blood lines of Admiration offers little clue to explain why she became so gieat a brood mare At the top and bottom of her pedigree the brothers Stockwell and Hataplan are repeated but one finds no other famous nick The female line as a producing one was extremely mediocre for over fifty years Sud ¬ denly it bursts into splendor JMobably it was through the pcpdy Saraband and through Eastern Princess the dam of Prince Charlie and Thurln gian Prince The lastnamed was the sire of Gaze GazeAnyone Anyone familiar with history of the family could hardly have been prepared to bid for Gare All the same her story is only another example of thi wisdom of keeping an open mind as to the stud possibilities of any fairly wellbred filly fillyIt It is worth recording that Gaze was a daughter of Eye PlensiT The lastnamed ware was so little thought of that she was bred as a twoyearold At the stud she was held in such slight esteem that she changed ownership nearly every season Kye Pleascr made 2r as a yearling and her buyer soon got lid of her As for the next dam Wall ¬ flower it is true she won a couple of races in her second season The first was a 250 selling handi ¬ cap She was afterward sold for 500 When nest successful she was entered to be sold for 300 After winning Captain Machell gave 725 for her One race was enough for the captain who passed her on to Mr II Baltazzi brother of Kis bers owner ownerThe The first time Eye Pleaser ever ran was in a fourfurlong race at Birmingham Sha was beaten two lengths and the winner sold for 350 She made four starts in six days at the Liverpool autumn meeting in 1878 and ran twice on the last day She was third in a maiden plate in which she was entered to be sold for 200 Two hours later her selling price was 120 The allowance was no use to her She was unplaced The winner realized
