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EXPECTED MANY LEAN YEARS I Valdina Farms Hit Top Before Ex- pectations of Woodward. Competent Horsemen and Breeders Declare Great Texas Nursery Equal to Others Anywhere. 3 HOUSTON, Texas, Dec. 7 When Emerson "Woodward decided to establish a thorough- -bred stud farm he estimated that it would be ten years, at least, before his Valdina Farms could rank with the best. But an unexpected J opportunity and his own" astute judgment cut that time exactly in half and Valdina, just five years after its inception, is recog- nized as one of the rising nurseries of the ; land. Competent horsemen and breeders who have inspected the farm and its blooded stock declare Valdina to be at least the equal 1 of many of the older, established farms in Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia and other . breeding centers. The worth of Valdinaas a thoroughbred ; nursery will be fully tested next season when the first truly representative crop of foals from the farm will make its bow to racing. Of the fifty-one yearlings that received their early education at Valdina Farms, only about six were acquired by purchase. The others are all sons and daughters of Valdina stallions and of Valdina mares. Some of the lot, mostly fillies, will be disposed of before the turn of the year but the great majority will be retained to carry the Valdina colors in the 1939 racing wars. QUICKLY SEIZES BABE OPPOBTUNITY. What has impressed breeders with Valdina is the fact that Mr. Woodward has built carefully and well upon a solid foundation, and there seems little doubt that in the years to come Valdina will continue to move forward until it has reached the very top rank of thoroughbred nurseries. The first purchases in behalf of Valdina Farms were made early in 1933 when Mr. Woodward acquired nine mares and the stallions Bagenbagage and Portmanteau, the latter a son of The Porter. These were not intended to top the sire brigade then planned but were simply the best available at the moment. Fate, however, shortly thereafter cast a golden opportunity before him and Mr. Woodward was quick to take advantage of it. In the summer of 1935 W. R. Coe, master of Shoshone Stud, and Morton L. Schwartz, owner of Elsmeade Farm both decided to disperse of their nurseries, and among the horses listed for sale were the stallions Sortie and Osculator, both young and untried. Mr. Woodward bought both, paying ,500 for Sortie and 8,000 for Osculator. That he got a rare bargain in each instance is attested by the subsequent records. SOBTIES FIVE CROPS. Sortie has had five crops of racing age, with twenty-seven representatives, of which nineteen are winners, including Split Second, winner of the Selima Stakes; Magic Hour, which scored in the Lawrence Realization, and No Sir, victor in the East View Handicap and second in the Flamingo Stakes. Four of his get have never started. Osculator has had two crops of fourteen foals, of which nine have won, one has been placed and three have not started. Lassator, from his first crop, won the Prairie State Stakes. Having acquired two stallions in which he I had great faith, Mr. Woodward then began the accumulation of a band of brood mares that is the envy of every breeder in the country. He now has more than eighty-five mares and twenty-one of them are by the celebrated stallion, Sweep. It is the greatest collection of Sweep mares on any farm. Daughters of Sweep are considered among ; the finest brood mares and they have for many years ranked at or near the top. Just a few of the outstanding racers produced by this line in recent years are War Admiral, El Chico, Bubbling Over, War Hero, Reaping Reward, The Heathen, Sweeping Light and Coldstream. Mares by Sir Gallahad IIL, Man o War one a full sister to the good stakes winner, Star Shadow, High Time, Friar Rock, Blue . Larkspur, Sun Briar, Fair Play, Black Toney, Broomstick and other outstanding sires are also included in the Valdina band of matrons, and Mr. Woodward is constantly adding others. At the Lexington sales he purchased two more mares, and one, Greedy, by High Time, is especially esteemed. FIRST TWO STALLLONS FAILURES. While he has been very active in the brood mare market, Mr. Woodward has not neglected the stallion brigade, either. Portmanteau not proving very successful, he was disposed of and Bagenbaggage, also failing to live up to expectations, has been used very little for breeding purposes in the last few years. It was necessary that other stallions be secured. One of those added is Night Flyer. Mr. Woodward purchased a yearling by this stallion in 1935 out of the Leslie E. Keif-fer vendue, and that colt, named Eagle Pass, developed into one of the top three-year-olds j of 1937, winning several important stakes. I When Night Flyer was placed on the market, Mr. Woodward, in partnership with George B. McCamey, Fort Worth breeder, purchased the horse and later the master of Valdina acquired full title to him. Night Flyer made his first season at Valdina last spring and was bred to fifteen mares. It is his first real opportunity, as in previous years Night Flyer was bred to only a few mares. Mr. Woodward confidently expects the son of Vulcain to produce other horses at least the equal of Eagle Pass. A liberal purchaser at the annual yearling marts, Mr. Woodward has often proved that he is a keen judge of horseflesh. One of his j purchases in 1936 was Teddys Comet, son of Teddy Flying Comet, by Peter Pan. Teddys j Comet was one of the ranking two-year-olds j last season and an early favorite for the Kentucky Derby, but injuries in training cut j short his turf career. He goes into stud service next spring, with every indication that he will prove very successful. His sire, Teddy, was a great race horse and sire, and his dam, Flying Comet, a stakes winner, is a half sister to the good stallion Insco, sire of the Kentucky Derby winner! Lawrin, and of Inscoelda, recent victor in . the Walden Stakes. Teddys Comets grand-dam was Starflight, full sister to the celebrated North Star HI. Petrose, son of Peter Hastings Rose Twig, is another of Mr. Woodwards yearling purchases to be placed into stud service. He was a horse of great speed, but an injury deprived him of a racing career. Mr. Woodward declares that Petrose is the fastest horse he ever owned, and he is hopeful that he will make good in the stud. Seventeen mares visited his court last spring. Other likely stallions within the next few years are Sir Emerson, Eagle Pass and, possibly, Viscounty, son of The Porter Trap Star, by Trap Rock, now a two-year-old and considered a very good prospect for three-year-old racing in 1939. SOME OF THE WINNERS PRODUCED. All of the foregoing was meant to show the foundation and steady growth of Valdina and does not tell of what has been accomplished in the matter of production to date. Of the nine mares that constituted Mr. Woodwards first purchases, five proved to be in foal, and the resultant five foals were all winners. Perhaps the best of the lot were Palan and Uvalde, both of which have been consistent winners. Other winners have also been produced at Valdina, including Circus Night, Night Bandit, Port Girl, Dark Prince and others. Among the band which were purchased as sucklings or weanlings and raised at Valdina are Sir Emerson, the good filly Be Blue, Roy T., a crack sprinter, and the good two-year-old Holton. The Valdina racing, stable this season included seven two-year-olds that were foaled at Valdina, but the mares were purchased after being bred. From this group have come six winners, including Blue Su, Range Dust, Viscounty and Wafer, all juveniles of quality. TRIALS FOB YEABLINGS SOON.- Next season Valdina for the first time will be represented by a truly representative crop of home-breds. Of the fifty-one two-year-olds which will carry the Valdina colors in 1939, twenty-five are the get of the Valdina stallions Osculator, Sortie, Sir Emerson and Portmanteau, and a number of others are the produce of Valdina mares which were booked to outside stallions. All but a very few those purchased at the recent yearling sales were foaled at Valdina. And in recognition of this the Valdina name has been adopted as standard, and in the future all Valdina foals will carry that identification. The present band of yearlings is a very promising lot. Trials are scheduled soon and Mr. Woodward is confident that there are several real runners to represent him next season. All have been liberally engaged in stakes, and Valdina looks for its most successful season on the turf in 1939. m i.
