Here and There on the Turf: Thoughts of Rejuvenation. Case of the Roll Call. Foxmores Fast Race. Blood of Lochryan, Daily Racing Form, 1924-02-01

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Here and There on the Turf Thoughts of Rejuvenation. Case of The Roll Call. Foxmores Fast Race. Blood of Lochryan. Just when word comes from Paris of a fatal attempt to rejuvenate a thoroughbred by gland grafting there is a real case of rejuvenation on this side of the Atlantic. It was an old Belgian champion, Ayala, that succumbed to the gland grafting operation in Paris and it is The Roll Call that has been rejuvenated in this country. And it was not a case of gland grafting with The Roll Call, so that after all the older method of bringing worn-out horas back is better than the new method. At least it is safer. The Roll Call is a six-ycar-cld son of Edward B. McLeans imported stallion Lough Foyle and Beth Stanley, a daughter of Golden Maxim. He was bred by Samuel Ross of Washington and he gave early promise of high quality. This promise was never fulfilled by reason of his early becoming what many good judges considered a hopeless cripple. His unsound underpinning quickly relegated him to the selling plater class, and for a long time it was a hard matter to find a spot cheap enough to afford him a winning chance. The Roll Call was traded about in many stables without ever being brought back to that earl promise of quality, and many a good man worked on his bad legs in an effort to bring him back. In fact, his legs were so bad that for a considerable time he had a bad reputation among the exercise boys and it was hard to find one that would even gallop him in the morning. This. was a second and serious handicap to the preparation of the gelding.. Gruelling work was out of the question by reason of his bad legs, and it was not always that a boy could be found to gallop him, for he had been known more than once to fall while being galloped. The Roll Call has been nursed along with such success this winter that in eight starts at New Orleans he has been four times winner, was once second and twice third, while the only time he failed to share in the purse he finished fourth. His last race was his best, when Wednesday he won the feature race of the card and in doing so ran a mile and a sixteenth in 1 :46, the fastest time for the distance that has besn hung up during the me3ting. From time to time there have been remarkable cases of tie bringing back, and many of them were the rejuvenation of horses of better reputation than The Roll Call. One rather remarkable case was that of old Kewessa. W. L. Billy Oliver, the Lakewood squire, kept old "Kee" going when there is not another trainer who would have bothered with the old fellow. In a race at the Yonkers track of the Empire City Association, Kewessa broke down so badly that Oliver was advised to mercifully kill the old fellow. He could not bring himself to destroy his honest old breadwinner, even though he had been practically a cripple from birth, and he sent him back to Lakewood on a pension. The following winter Kewessa was permitted to romp about in the deep snow, and his old legs straightened up considerably. Before spring came he was "crying" to run and Squire Oliver put him in training just to humor him. Then the old cripple that narrowly escaped a painless death the year before, wen a couple of races for Oliver. Frank Weir brought Old Rosebud back when he seemed through for all time, and Jim Healy patched up many an old jumper to have him go on to stake quality after he had been sent to the discards by reason of infirmity. Many and many a case could be cited of tha bringing back of cripples and the rejuvenating of hasbcens, but The Roll Call seems to be the latest. Henry McDaniel is trying to brinq; Exterminator back, and reports from the far West suggest that he will be" successful. Sam Hildreth has kept bad "legged" horses goin year after year, and there are other trainers that show a like skill. This, nursing of the one-time good ones that have gone amiss is surely a safer method than the gland grafting, judging by the Paris report. There has not yet been discovered a way to grow new legs on a horse, but new feet an grown many and many a time, while tendons are straightened out and weak legs made strong again. That is about as far as is safe to go with the rejuvenation of the thorough bred. There is no particular reason for becoming excited over a new track record for the trifling three and a half furlong distance, but it is worth recording that Foxmore equaled the mark at the Fair Grounds Wednesday. He raced the distance in 4Vz seconds. Of course, only two-year-olds are raced over this distance, but in his race Wednesday Foxmore equaled the mark of Bed Time Stories, made on February 9, 1916. There has been many a two-year-old race over the three and a half furlong distance since February 9, 1916, and there have been many good juveniles shown at New Orleans since that date, but the Bed Tims Stories mark had never before been equaled. It is also to the credit of Foxmore that he established his mark considerably earlier in the year. It may be that he will go on to better things, but his fast race saw him under a drive at the end. Of course, he had been rushed into a long lead, but even a two-year-old should hardly tire in a three and a half furlong dash. Foxmore is a son of Moss Fox and Lismore, by Blarney, and was bred by C. B. Head. He established his record under the silks of W. Y. Reeves and, despite his present place in the limelight, he is only rated as a selling plater and by no means a star of the Fair Grounds juveniles. Although Edward Cebrian sold out his breeding farm recently, he is only away from" the turf for a short time and at that not altogether away, for his silks will be shown during the season. Mah Jong was a winner for him at the Fair Grounds Wednesday, and when -she took the measure of some rather smart three-year-olds it was a good performance. Mah Jong ran her three-quarters in 1 :12, which was a decidedly impressive performance, and the way she finished out her sprint suggested that she will go on for greater distances. Mah Jong is a bay daughter of Sir Martin and Tea Party, by Watervale, and was. bred by John E. Madden. One of the prime attractions in the proposed sale of Emil Herz Short Grass Stud is the fact that there are three of thz matrons by Lochryan, the son of Enthusiast and Spring Ray, by Springfield. These mares are Castle Douglas, Queens Loch and Susie. The Loch-rj-an blood is particularly prized and Mr. Herz was extremely fortunate to obtain these mares. These mares are heavy in foal to Spanish Prince II., The Finn and Chicle respectively, and undoubtedly they will be much sought after in the auction. Incidentally The Roll Call, mentioned for his rejuvenation, is a grandson of Lochryan. for Lough Foyle, his sire, is a son of the Irish stallion and Cannera, by Senanus.


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Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800