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JUDGES STAND By CHARLES HATTON LEXINGTON, Ky., May 20. Most of the breeders with whom we have discussed inbreeding are more or less opposed to it, and yet Faultless, But Why Not, Busher, Spy Song, Stymie, Jacks Jill, Blue Border, Be Faithful and other high-class horses are bred from this formula. The late Colonel Bradley had sound and practical ideas on the subject, and he tried doubling up Black Toney blood with some good results. But one might say that he almost had to take this course, there was so much of the blood at Idle Hour. The Klebergs have been experimenting with inbreeding to Man o War and Commando for several years. In this way their King Ranch has produced Stymie and Assault from stallions and mares whose stud records had been negligible, which may suggest something to other breeders. One finds remote inbreeding to Flying Fox in some of Belairs best stayers, and the sire, Questionnaire, traces to Domino in a good many directions. From time to time, breeders have set out to corner the market on certain mares, or seasons to certain sires. But nobody has quite got around to exploring the possibilities of inbreeding with a very definite program, even though there is reason to think the idea has merit if it is not overdone. The Klebergs have developed a type of cow pony that will respond beautifully and with extraordinary energy to their riders wishes. They are the result of a thoughtful plan of inbreeding. Then there are the wild horses of the plains that nobody can ride. They are the consequences of indiscriminate inbreeding. AAA A few columns ago it was noted that Faultless is inbred to Teddy and Plucky Liege. This bores the experts who disapprove of all inbreeding, for reasons that have never been made quite clear. One observer supposes that Inbred Horses Now Are Most Successful Include Faultless, But Why Not, Stymie Some Notes on King Ranch Experiments 1947 Stakes Suggest Pedigree Patterns soon there will be a good many horses bred from Faultless pattern, and that there will be fully as many bad ones as good ones. We really think a 50 per cent average of good ones would be quite satisfactory to most any breeder. Perhaps Abe Hewitt can interest his "figure man," Dave Novick, in working out a ratio of successful inbred and outbred horses, then we might get somewhere. We should hesitate to say where exactly, unless Jhe statistics were used intelligently. If the ratio favors outcrosses, it might be said to prove how little people actually know of inbreeding. AAA To be perfectly frank about it, we only know the first thing about inbreeding. We know that it has to be borne in mind that any objectionable characteristic of the multiple ancestor is likely to be developed along with his virtues. For that reason a great deal of the success of these things depends on choosing an ancestor with the right sort of individuality. One might breed out a nasty temper or shelly feet with any luck, but to inbreed to a horse who has such a weakness is a chancy thing. Chatting of this with Bull Hancock over at Claiborne House not long ago, he gave it as his opinion that "a horse who isnt a good enough individual for inbreeding ought not to be bred at all." If you care to know, we are about convinced that it doesnt matter so much whether a horse has a very straight hind leg. But Why Nots arent, and this may be because she is inbred to Black Toney through Blue Larkspur. Inbreeding to Teddy through Bull Dog and Sir Gallahad m. gives Fault less two good reasons for a certain angulation about his hind legs. Neither of these three-year-olds, seems to mind a bit. Matt Brady once told us that he would never have obtained such a yearling bargain as El Chico, except that the experts knocked his sickle hocks. Some of the get of Questionnaire have them, but they do not appear to be a very serious fault. AAA It must remain to be seen what the breeders will make of the success of so many inbred horses. One turf columnist makes a prophecy, or perhaps we should say a prediction, that pedigrees full of repetition will become a vogue. If we are not being presumptuous, the form shown by Faultless seems to suggest that mares of La Troiennes family might be bred to Bull Lea without inbreeding to Teddy too closely. You may be interested that inbreeding to La Troienne has been tried through Bimelech and Be Like Mom. The result was a first foal called Bims Blossom, who is a non-winner. Of course, this experiment involved, the mating of Bimelech with a Sickle mare, and the blood of both of these stallions tends to be a little hot. There are other sources if the idea appeals to anybody. AAA Turfiana: Hundreds of midwestern horses now have been tattooed. Even in the days before the TRPB, when racing was supposed to be in its infancy, there were few ringing cases at major tracks. But if the tattooing were to spare the sport the scandal of just one, the system would be fully justified. . . . Paul Mellons three-year-old, Flying Fortress, was a good filly in France last year, although the sales catalog did not give her record. . . . She won two stakes, -was beaten a head for a third, and was not unplaced in five starts. . . . Richard Kleberg thinks that "it may be said that the quality of the horses produced in a given country quite accurately represents the quality of its people."
