view raw text
ENGLISH STALLION FEES Only One Sire in England Held at Fee as Large as 2500 Now St Simon Jfcvcr Stood at Higher Fee in Spite Spiteof of Figares in Racing Guides Great GreatDemand Demand for The Tetnvrch So far as stallion fees are concerned America is certainly holding her own with England At least two American sires Man o AVar and Broomstick stand at a fee of 2500 and there is only one English stallion at so high a figure St Simon in his heyday as a sire never stood at a higher figure than 2500 according to William Allison the spe ¬ cial commissioner of the London Sportsman Mr Allison discusses big stud fees in a recent article as follows followsThere There is only one horse in England or Ireland now whose fee is 2500 and he is The Tetrarch so it is clear that the demand for such a horse at such a fee is no greater now than it was in St Simons day St Simon was given in Ruffs Guide for sev ¬ eral years as at 3000 which was clearly in ¬ correct though it is likely enough that some breeders gave 500 premium to others who had obtained nominations at 52500 Be that as it may the demand for St Simon was almost overwhelming in those days and at a fee which has never r eeii exceeded and only equaled once though with by no means brilliant results Ls it not manifest there ¬ fore that the suggestion about the likeli ¬ hood of the Duke of Portland being tempted to put more mares to St Simon had the great horse lived in these days is wholly baseless I have full personal knowledge of that period in the breeding world and am quite sure that the Duke of Portland could have doubled St Simons list had he been disposed to do so It is a matter for keen regret that there is not a worthy scion of the horse standing at Welbeck WelbeckHURRY HURRY O S PROMISE PROMISEThe The only horse of the present day who looks like making a St Simon reputation is Hurry On whose first begotten foal is a Derby winner and whose second stud sea ¬ son produced Town Guard No horse could possibly have done better more especially as all Hurry Ons stock can run He is full at 2000 which is more than St Simon was in his early days It remains however to be seen whether Hurry On will carry 011 as St Simon did didAs As a matter of fact Stockwell Hermit and St Simon have never been equaled in their continuous successes and it was Her ¬ mit which first introduced big fees and sen ¬ sational prices for yearlings as Lord Chap ¬ lin has good cause to remember Hermit was certainly a wonderful stallion though nowhere except in South America did he es ¬ tablish a male line lineIt It is quite possible that if there were such a horse as St Simon or Hermit or Stockwell in these days he would command an almost unimaginable fee for no one ranks The Tetrarch as a second St Simon and judged by fees he is the leading sire at present ff I were The Tetrarchs owner I should give him a complete change of environment and bring him preferably to England EnglandGREAT GREAT IKAIA D FOIt SERVICES SERVICESThere There is no question about the great de ¬ mand for his services A few years ago a lady offered 5000 premium for a nomina ¬ tion to him and 1 do not know whether it was accepted or any foal resulted Anyhow The Tetrarch the premier sire of today as reckoned by fees is not in my opinion a aI I patch on what St Simon was either as a aI I race horse or a stallion and it is quite mani ¬ fest that the position of St Simon was one of Eclipse first and the rest nowhere so that there must have been no end of tempta temptaI I lion to increase h subscription list at that time while nov I dare say the pressure on onI I The Tetrarchs list is not excessive I excessiveI But what are we to do about other horses I tried or a nomination to Phalaris for 1924 and have found myself unable to obtain one If bredders will take my advice they will refrain absolutely from booking up these subscriptions a year or two in advance Not only may the horse have gone right out of fashion when you are engaged to pay but the mare you send to him may prove barren What on earth is the use in paying such fees unless to a horse like St Simon who was a good stockgetter whatever those of the current fashion may beV
