Maryland and the Thoroughbred, Daily Racing Form, 1922-12-20

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Maryland and the Thoroughbred i J 1 1 . , . l t I ; Third Installment. Florizel in 1791 was imported in Maryland by Messrs. Kinggold ; Chateau Margaux and Claret in 1S31, Priam in 1S37, Rovston in 1S35, Zinganee in 1S3G, all to Airginia, and the surpassing Glencoe to Alabama in 1S3G. Priam had won the Derby. Goodwood Cup, etc., and was at the head of all horses on the turf according to public running. He won 1,100 and two cups. Sam Chifney, the great English jockey of those days, said that Pvowton, Zinganee and Priam were the three best horses he ever rode. Zinganee, bred by Lord Exeter in 1S25, by Tramp, had won the Craven Stakes and the Gold Cup at Ascot, beating the great horses The Colonel Mameluke, etc. It was said "a great field and he beat them easily in the best of style." So you can readily understand that Virginia was destined to make great strides ; yet these horses were not to be, and could not be, successful without the progeny of the early stock of Maryland. In 1812 an event of importance had taken place for Maryland in the foaling in Prince George County, again at the Ogle seat of Lady Lightfoot, far famed, and undeniably great. The record is as follows: "Bred by Colonel John Tayloe and foaled at Mr. Ogles seat, Prince George County, in June, 1S12, a dark brown mare, fifteen hands three inches high, six feet in girth. She became Lady Lightfoot and was by Sir Archy, her dam Black Maria, by Shark. She was purchased by Mr. Hall in 1S24 for ,500 with a bay filly at her foot, and was positively the most distinct racer of her day, having won between twenty and thirty races, the majority four-mile heats, and being beaten but once, in her eleventh year, and then by American Eclipse on the Union course in Long Island." Lady Lightfoot was taken from Bclair to Oaken Brow on the Rappahannock, Virginia. The story goes that she ran into a cornfield, and Mr. Greenlaw, the superintendent, remonstrated for the damage. The ; owner said "Let her alone, she is worth your whole cornfield," that might be estimated at1 ,000. She was allowed to run occasionally upon the wheat field, which that excellent farmer. Air. Greenlaw, also thought "a strange fantasy." This is a point to be emphasized : one good foal is worth an entire crop, and one bruised knee may mean "?5,000 in these days. So again in 1820 we find another horse, Lady Lightfoot, foaled in Maryland, at the top of the tree. In the stud she produced the great Black Maria, a mare described as "of surpassing speed and wonderful power and endurance, and the winner on the turf of the huge sum in those days of ?1S,500." She was by American Eclipse, dam Lady LightfooK the two horses which had had the severe encounter on the Union course. BLACK MAIUAS GItEATXESS. Much could be written of the great matches and great horses, but I will refer in detail to but two more Black Maria, daughter of Lady Lightfoot, and Argylc. In the publications of 1S35 we read: "Let not the gentlemen of Maryland forget her ancient ascendency . . . that Prince George County then the race horse region not only gave birth to the above mentioned, Lee Boo, Post Boy, Oscar, etc., but to the almost; unrivaled Selim, and in these latter days to the famed Lady Lightfoot, to whom the North is indebted for the victories she won with her produce, Shark and Black Maria; and more recently to the famed Argylc that acquired such renown the last winter in Georgia as to give him the first rank on her turf, if not in the Carolinas. The three were foaled within three miles of each other; the two former at Bclair, the seat of Benjamin Ogle, the latter at Marietta, the seat of Judge Duvall." Argyle was a horse of great speed by Monsieur Tonson Thistle, by Oscar. Thistle was bred by Thomas Duckett of Maryland. Argyle won eleven out of eighteen races. Black Maria was certainly the leading race mare of her time. She won from North to South at all points and enough cannot be said of her prowess. The blood of the older horses had been steadily refreshed, and later on when Ken- I tucky came upon the scene the offspring of these early Maryland and Virginia horses found their way to Kentucky and other states. "Wlule racing was universally recognized as a sport, both in Maryland and Virginia, it is possible, and probable, that one year the sport might be better in one state than in the other, and Mr. Ogles horses when sent down to Virginia had in the old days won so many races that a regulation was passed forbidding the entrance in certain races of horses not foaled in Virginia. The consequence was that Mr. Ogle sent some of his mares to Virginia to foal there, in order that the progeny might be eligible. This is an interesting sidelight, but it rdiows us how keen the competition was; hew much of it was devoted to the breeding industry, and what exceedingly important blocd lines were maintained in Maryland in those early days. The value of the foundation stock which Maryiand provided should constantly be emphasized. We often find notations which refer to the Maryland blood. For instance, to give but a few illustrations, in 1S20 Bel-lissima, owned by B. B. Smock of Monmouth, N. J., and tracing to Selima, was sent back to Maryland "returned to Ogles Oscar." At Florence, Ala., about 1S33, wo find the three-year-old chestnut filly, Miss Ogle, winning; also the great Sir Henry, which was the southern representative in tho match race at Union Course, Long Island, against American Eclipse, traced directly to Maryland. Winning at Oglethorpe, Ga., wo find the chestnut filly Tube Rose, dam by Bel-lair. Mr. Ridgelys Oscar was sent to Ohio, and Mucklejolm to Lexington to mako a great success. OPHELIA IS FROM MARYLAND STOCK. Again we find in Kentucky the great Ophelia, descended from Maryland stock, and her son Grey Eagle, matched against tho great Wagner in 1835. Wagner was by Sir Charles, out of Maria West, and was bought by John Campbell of Baltimore as a three-year-old for 55,000. He won S3C.000 and fourteen out of twenty races, beating Grey Eagle. Again in 1S33 we find notice of Reform going to North Carolina as a stallion. Ho was "well known in Maryland" and was sold by William Tolson of Prince George County to the Hon. Samuel P. Carson of North Carolina. He was sired by Maryland-er, dam by Richmond, granddam by Oglea Oscar. To Be Continued.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1920s/drf1922122001/drf1922122001_11_1
Local Identifier: drf1922122001_11_1
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800