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Maryland Breeding Farms — Nos. 8 to 15 Inclusive i By NELSON DUNSTAN mmm — — mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm-„iw -..----- — ---- - - HOLLY BEACH FARM. Just thirty years ago 1906 Sylvester W. Labrot, seeking surcease from the cares and labors involved in large business projects, established Holly Beach Farm, just a few miles from the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. On a property of 160 acres, he started breeding cattle and hogs, but accumulated the surrounding property until Holly Beach became a vast estate embracing 2,400 acres. Much of the property acquired is still virgin land. About ten years ago the late Mr. Labrot became imbued with the idea of breeding Maryland thoroughbreds. Following a careful study of the breeding situation in America, he went to Europe and after acquiring the stallion Sir Greysteel and thirteen mares, returned to inaugurate a farm that was soon to become a leader among establishments in the Old Line State. During his first American stud season Sir Greysteel sired Tred Avon, one of the sturdiest Maryland mares of all time. In the same year Mr. Labrot attended the J. N. Camden sale in Kentucky and bought the blind stallion Light Brigade for 0,000. Then he acquired Happy Time, a son of High Time for 0,000 and was busy with the task of building up Holly Beach production when two years ago death cut his career short. Deciding to carry on the late sportsmans activities Mrs. Labrot and her two sons Sylvester, Jr., and William, had a firm foundation upon which to build. But, although they suffered setbacks in the deaths of Light Brigade and Sir Greysteel, they continued to improve the property while seeking the proper stallions to replace those they had lost. The last will and testament of the departed breeder necessitated a sale of the racing string, and from the splendid average of ,000 evolved the rather unique idea of selling two-year-olds rather than yearlings. The first sale under this plan will be staged at Havre de Grace this month. To hold yearlings over a year and then sell them as educated, ready to-race juveniles requires expert handlers and trainers, to say nothing of a farm equipped to house them and yet have sufficient stalls and grazing land for the crop of youngsters which follow them. With accommodations for 150 head. Holly Beach is splendidly equipped for keeping the yearling crops over to sell as two-year-olds. Of the approximate 2,400 acres 1,600 are cultivated and divided into paddocks of various sizes for distribution of the horse population. Humphrey Finney has his hands full as stud manager in watching and caring for the forty-five mares, two stallions, twenty-five yearling and foals that have arrived and the others that are expected this spring. The two-year-old crop nineteen in all, are in charge of trainer Clay Sutphin, and when they go into the ring at j Havre de Grace will have the benefit of his J schooling over the one-mile outdoor training i track which is a feature at Holly Beach. Located in Tidewater, Md., Holly Beach i Farm is so situated that it has seven miles I of water front and developed to the point j where the land produces seventy-five per cent of the grain used. By next year the constant cultivation is expected to yield sufficient to make the vast establishment self-supporting. Last summer it was announced that the stallion problem at Holly Beach had partially been solved by the purchase of the French stallion Kantar. At the time only Happy Time was standing at the Maryland j estate, and the new acquisition was hailed as I a worthy successor to the gallant Sir Greysteel, the gray son of Roi Herode. Happy Time was an exceedingly fast race horse, and in stud was capable of producing such fast racers as Rush Hour, Paint Box, Stain-forth and Mad Mahdi. But additional stallion strength was necessary, and in Kantar the Labrot contingent are certain they found the answer. Kantar 1925, is a brown son of Alcantara ] II. — Karabe, by Chouberski, and was the best two-year-old of his year in France, winning all four of his starts. He raced until six years old and won at distances from five furlongs to one mile and seven furlongs. His first crop are now five-year-olds on the other side, and from the start performed in a manner which stamped the stallion a stud success. He is a distinct contribution to the breeding ranks here in that he furnishes a complete outcross for almost any mare in America. The Labrot band of forty-five mares has a splendid record as consistent producers, and for the moment eyes are centered on the recent foal of Tred Avon, the sire being Display. Other foals to date this year are a chestnut filly by Ladkin — Tuckahoe, by Sir Greysteel; brown filly, by Sir Greysteel — Marlene, by St. Germans; brown filly, by Sir Greysteel— Toytime, by Happy Time; bay colt, by Sir Greysteel— Mary Hume, by Sporting Blood; brown colt, by Ladkin — Pocomoke, by Sir Greysteel, and a bay filly by Man o War— Brushalong, by Sweep. All of the mares mentioned, with the exception of Pocomoke, will be mated with Kantar this season. Pocomoke will attend the court of Bright Knight. INVERNESS. Situated at Monkton, about twenty-one miles from Baltimore, is Inverness, the beautiful Maryland estate of Leslie Keiffer, the New York cotton broker, who sold his entire thoroughbred breeding stock at Saratoga last August. However, he did not dispose of his racing stable nor Inverness, and it is the general opinion he will resume being a breeder in the years to come. Inverness is part of a 10,000-acre grant given by Charles, fifth Lord Baltimore, to his wife Margaret Lady Baltimore in 1713 land since then known as "My Ladys j Manor." On the grounds, and built by Leslie Keiffer, is the course over which "My ILadys Mannor" Steeplechase is contested an-jnually. Inverness House, built long before the Revolution, is an appealing structure of early American architecture and built along the low, rambling lines favored by many sportsmen. The surrounding land is abundantly watered by the Gunpowder River, which flows through the Keiffer tract and also by the presence of many small streams, while limestone is plentiful for imparting — — - — - - ■ - ■ good bone. Until last year Flying Ebony, Kentucky Derby winner, stood at Inverness and was the highlight of the Keiffer dispersal sale last August. LITTLE GUNPOWDER. Located on "My Ladys Manor," the grant of Charles, fifth Lord of Baltimore to Lady Baltimore, is the Little Gunpowder Farm of I Thomas "Tim" Durant, sportsman, amateur I steeplechase rider and racing official. Com-j prising 267 acres, the Durant estate is a complete breeding establishment, and besides one barn of sixteen stalls, is featured by another building of thirty-four stalls, with an indoor training track that is the last word in equipment on a breeding estab-I lishment. Partially enclosed by glass windows that are removable, the barn can be converted into an outdoor training arena I when weather permits. The indoor track j is one sixth of a mile around, while at one end of the barn is a sun-ray solarium with glass of special composition designed to draw and hold the ultra-violet rays of the sun. Within the past few months the noted horseman, E. S. Voss, arranged to buy over a portion of Little Gunpowder, but as the I details were being arranged as these lines j are written definite data was unavailable. ! At the time of our visit Mr. Durant, who I was in California, had nine mares and six j yearlings stabled on his estate. The latter : group comprised three colts and three fillies and were by the sires Dan IV., Bud Lerner, Dunlin and On Watch. COUNTRY LIFE FARM. Although the name suggests leisure and rest, the Country Life Farm of Adolph Pons is one of the busiest and most progressive in the Old Line State. Situated at Belair, on U. S. Highway No. 1, and twenty-four miles from Baltimore, Country Life has only been a horse farm for the past three years, j Pons purchasing the property from Ray-I mond Miller for the purpose. In material i appearance, the farm has considerable appeal to the lover of the outdoors and its charm grips the visitor as the car turns into the long driveway that is flanked on both sides by huge cedar trees. The appeal increases as the exterior and then the interior 1 of the old homestead on the property is seen. In charge of John Pons, the son of Adolph, : Country Life is comprised of but 115 acres, but as only breeding is carried on there, greater acreage is hardly necessary. There is one large barn of thirty-two stalls, and two I smaller barns for the trio of stallions — High : Strung, Crack Brigade and Ladkin. Pons I has twelve mares of his own, but at the time of our visit, twenty-eight were quartered I there, the extras being mares of other own-I ers sent to Country Life for matings. Adolph Pons brought a world of experience ! to his breeding venture. For close to thirty ; years, and until the death of August Bel-; mont, he was in charge of the latters breed-i ing and racing activities, and in those years I was instrumental, all or in part, in the ca-| reers of Fair Play, Man o War, Tracery , and Stromboli. In later years he handled j Sporting Blood, Ordinance. Ladkin, Chance Play and Chance Shot. He organized the I French establishment of August Belmont, Haras dVillers, and was in charge of the ! Belmont dispersal which brought the record ! return of 85,000. With C. B. Miller, he i leased the Belmont property, and it was there that Chance Play and Ladkin first entered stud, and where now stands the pop-; ular sire Ariel, with the pair, Waygood and • Infinite. Pons furthered his reputation when he ! took over the management of the Mere-I worth Stud of Walter J. Salmon, and remained in charge until the New York real-| tor withdrew from the sport. At Mereworth, Pons developed Swivel and Discovery, and I after racing the latter as a two-year-old, ! sold him to the youthful newcomer, A. G. Vanderbilt. Once he purchased Country Life, Pons I placed his son, John, a graduate of La Salle I Military School, in charge, so that he might | keep free to handle his many activities. Dur-; ing the past three years, the Maryland es-j tablishment has grown steadily and in stal-! lion strength has Belmonts pride, Ladkin, I by Fair Pay — Lading; Crack Brigade, the ! spirited son of Light Brigade — Crack I oDoom, by Ultimus and High Strung, the j High Time— Emotion colt which in the colors of Marshall Field, won the 1928 Belmont j and Pimlico Futurities. The first crop from Country Life was a grand group and reflected the experience of I the owner plus the ability of the youthful manager, John Pons. Prominent in the group was Airflame. the juvenile star of the last Santa Anita meeting in the Vanderbilt colors. MERRYLAND. Located at Hydes in Long Green Valley, Merryland is the home of the trio of sires Purchase, Bud Lerner and Sir James. A comparatively new breeding farm, it is comprised of 250 acres and owned by W. M. Elder, is rich in grass and water supply. The tract lies in a natural amphitheater, with surrounding hills that shut out cold winds and provide a diversified surface for legging-up young stock. Purchase 1916 was a fine three-year-old and one of the handsomest horses that ever raced. The eminent Mr. Vosburgh said of him: "He had the size of Melbourne, the: power of Stockwell, the beauty of Orlando, the speed of Ormonde and St. Simon, and the indomitable courage of Lexington." Sam Hildreth called him "the greatest race horse I ever owned." Until the arrival of the ill-fated gelding Chase Me. Purchase had not done very well as a stock horse, his best youngsters being Simba, Mr. Purchase, Miss Purray and Sabine. Through the feats of . Chase Me, however, interest was awakened among breeding pundits. Bud Lerner 1920, bay son of The Finn—, Dreamsome. by Superman, was a former Rancocas mainstay, along with Purchase. A difficult horse to manage, Bud has had considerable success in stud, nevertheless, and has sent to the races such stake winners as Mokatam, Chantry, Capture, Schooner, Trilogy and Black Buddy. The third Merryland stallion — Sir James — has had little opportunity to date as a stock ! i horse. A son of St. James and Lady Mother, he was brought to the races in 1920 and was retired to stud in 1933 as a result of a bowed tendon. Elder has great faith in his being a success as a stock horse. Besides the three stallions there are fifteen mares, thirteen yearlings and six two-year-olds at Merryland. There is a six furlongs track on the property and a barrier for schooling the younger stock being given their initial training lessons. GLEN WILD FARMS. Dr. J. Fred Adams, popular Maryland trainer and racing man, is owner of Glen Wild Farm on Rolling Road, Catonsville, in I Baltimore County. An ancestral inheritance, Glen Wild is named after the 1929 winner of the Riggs, a horse which died in the following November, and now sleeps within the . confines of the 400-acre Adams estate. Once trainer for the late Sylvester Labrot, Dr. Adams has had wide experience in conditioning horses, and has always been keenly interested in the problems encountered by the training profession. He was one of the originators of the Trainers Association. At Glen Wild he now has standing the stallions Rehoboth, War Gain and J. Fred A. The ; latter, named after the owner, of course, is a son of Meridian — Lazuli, by imported Knight , of the Thistle. Besides the stallions, there are fourteen mares at the Adams farm. THE CAVES. One of the most popular breeders in Maryland is the youthful Janson Fisher, gentleman rider, former master of fox hounds and now president of the Maryland Breeders Association. His farm. The Caves, at Eacles-ton, Md., is an estate of 850 acress. 400 of ; which is wooded, with the remainder im- | proved for thoroughbred breeding and the raising of other animals. Wave On and Grey Coat are the Fisher stallions, while old Vice-Chairman is bred I occasionally with the hope of producing jumpers. Grey Coat, gray son of Gnome — 1 Lady Grey, by Grey Lag, raced in the colors of Sam Ross, and, saddled by the late "Uncle Billy" Garth, won the Dwyer in 1929. Fisher has every faith he will make good as a sire. His first crop is now part of the group of sixteen youngsters at The Caves, some of the others being by Diavolo, Jack High, Messenger and Constitution. A band of eighteen mares completes the horse population. An outdoor training track, seven-eighths of a mile around, is a feature of the Fisher property. LAURAL. Stately and imposing, Laural is the beautiful breeding establishment of the famous Maryland sportsman. Ral Parr. Located in the Green Spring Valley, Laural stretches over 200 acres and, with five barns, can accommodate sixteen head. There are no stallions on the farm, and, to use Parrs own words, "there wont be any until I breed one." At present there is a brood mare band of five, the most noted being the splendid racer, Her Grace. Kathleen, dam of Jock, died there recently. There are also five* yearlings, one by Wrack, one by Sun Edwin, one by Pharamond II., one by Bubbling Over and one by Bud Lerner. Parrs best racer was probably Paul Jones, which defeated Boniface and Exterminator in the Suburban of 1920, and in the same year took the measure of Upset and On Watch in the Kentucky Derby. There is no training track at Laural, for the reason that Parr has a lease on the old Maryland estate and training track of Commander J. K. L. Ross. In recent months, however, he released the Ross property to the Bomar Stable and that is where Grand Slam was prepared for his Kentucky Derby effort.
