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HEATHER FARM IS PLACE OF ENCHANTING BEAUTY BEAUTYRomantic Romantic Past of Haggin Era Is Linked With John W Marchbanks California Nursery at San Mateo MateoSAN SAN MATEO Calif June 5 There are breeding ranches in California that are prob ¬ ably fifty or sixty times bigger than that of John W Marchbanks Heather Farm less than twentyfive miles north of San Fran ¬ cisco in point of acreage and there are farms on which there are supercolossal barns but if one was casting a picture ex ¬ tolling the sentimental and picturesque as ¬ pects of breeding one would probably choose the Marchbank ranch ranchHeather Heather Farm is surrounded with rich pastoral and Arcadian contentment It is in a manner the Idle Hour of California CaliforniaHeather Heather Farm is one of those places that basking in the peaceful contfentment of its rich rolling meadows a beautiful shimmer ¬ ing lake its half mile training track and its whitefenced paddocks in almost countless abundance one leaves it reluctantly reluctantlyJohn John W Marchbank is one of the pioneers in California breeding history He was not active during the glorious regime of Ben Ali Haggin and E J Lucky Baldwin but he was one of the links that bound the roman ¬ tic past with the revival of breeding in Cal ¬ ifornia today He continued to breed thor ¬ oughbreds during the years that racing was dormant because of a love for thorough ¬ breds bredsAs As they refer to certain horses as being Whitney bred or Bradley bred on the Pacific Coast there is probably no other breeding establishment that can claim simi ¬ lar individuality as a Marchbank bred Marchbanks contributions to the breeding world have not been surrounded by the suc ¬ cesses that have attended the efforts of the Whitneys or the master of Idle Hour but they are wholly as distinctive distinctivePURCHASES PURCHASES ENGLISH STALLION STALLIONThree Three years ago John W Marchbank hav ¬ ing an urge to improve the quality of the stbdk at Heather Farm procured an English bred stallion named Soliel du Mido by Ted ¬ dy sire of Sir Gallahad III and Bull Dog from the Black Jester mare Midnight Fol ¬ lies liesThis This year Marchbank has fourteen foals by Soliel du Mido with others due to arrive The new arrivals are from the following mares maresGivanna Givanna a daughter of his own King Heather filly fillyRoaming Roaming a Whisk Broom II mare colt coltAmalthea Amalthea a daughter of King Heather filly fillyPrincess Princess Evol also by King Heather colt coltJoan Joan M a King Heather mare whose dam was by Under Fire filly fillyAnnie Annie D by King Heather filly fillyNeon Neon by Bostonian colt coltSupercharge Supercharge by Supremus from a daugh ¬ ter of Carbine filly fillyLady Lady Julian by the imported War Cry a filly Lady Julian was the dame of Prince Heather and Lady Florise FloriseMaid Maid of Perth daughter of King Heather a fillyPenitent filly Penitent by Pennant from the famous Regret a filly fillyLittle Little Kid Carroll King Heather mare filly fillySudra Sudra also by King Heather a colt coltTorsion Torsion by War Cry from a daughter of Sweep a filly STRICTLY MARCHBANK INDIVIDUAL INDIVIDUALMore More than twenty years ago Marchbank bought a mare named Antrim and after she failed to foal to Friar Rock was breH to Dis ¬ guise a son of Domino From that union there arrived a colt that Marchbank named King Heather which won his first three starts as a juvenile and was never beaten In time King Heather became the nucleus of the Marchbank breeding activities activitiesToday Today Marchbank has about thirty mares on his ranch fifteen of which will go to King Heather nd eight to Xenofol XenofolSoliel Soliel du Midi at present is in service for Harry C Hatch who has an interest in the stallion but who under the terms of the agreement will return the importee to Heather Farm in 1942 1942Incidentally Incidentally Marchbank operates Tan foran racetrack Marchbanks interests are divided among his racetrack placer mining and his breeding farm with the latter com ¬ manding the major part of his attentions
