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REFLECTIONS y nelson dunstan NEW YORK, N. Y. May 27. The American-owned and bred Black Tarquin is likely to be a solid favorite for the Ascot Gold Cup on June 11. He is owned by William Woodward, chairman of The Jockey Club, who is also the owner of Brown Rover, an eligible for the Epsom Derby on June 4. "Rnfrlish turf fnllnroovc oro oelr4rrr themselves the question: "Is the year 1949 going to be similar to 1881 and 1882, which have always been called the American years?" It was in 1881 that the American-bred and owned Iroquois won the Epsom Derby and, just a year later, that Foxhall won the Ascot Gold Cup. That feat has never been duplicated, but Englishmen have never forgotten it. It has often been said that the English are resentful when foreign horses come to their shores and defeat the homebreds in stake events, but history has never proven that to be so. The famous breeding expert and turf scribe, the late Mankato Professor J. B. Robertson was quick to rush to his typewriter when he heard the oft-repeated question. "What is wrong with British bloodstock?" and that question was often heard in Newmarket and Ascot circles when the Irish, French and American horses were invading England to win important races. AAA Present-day English turf scribes are no different from those of former years. Recently, we read in "The Middle-burg Chronicle" an article by C. R. Acton, the author of that interesting book "Silk and Spur," and in his very first paragraph he said, "Periodically during the history of British racing, French horses have descended upon the British turf and annexed our greatest "prizes. Consequently, a few racing followers ask the question, What is wrong with British bloodstock? Then the matter dies down and British bloodstock breeding returns to its old, sweet ways. It has been suggested that French jockeys are better than ours, and that is almost laughable. It has also been advanced that French horses are better trained and less pampered than ours. That, I am certain, is an incorrect view. No one is going to tell me that men bearing such names as Butters, Leach, Lambton and Leader British Called 1881-1882 American Years1 Iroquois, Foxhall Won at Epsom, Ascot Black Tarquin Favorite for Ascot, June 11 English Say Belair Horse Is Worlds Best do not know how to produce a horse fighting fit." Certainly, no one can blame the British scribe for defending the English thoroughbred and his breeding, but it has been our belief that they are very quick to give credit to the American horses who invade England and make good. And. what better example of that than Black Tarquin, the American horse who did so well there last year, and is continuing his winning ways this season? AAA During the past two years, our newspapers have been singing the praises of Citation and Coaltown. Citation has been compared to Man o War, and there is a school of thought in this country who hold that Coaltown can defeat his stablemate. The English will tell you, however, that they have a horse who will defeat either one of them and, if you were to press the question, they would name the Belair colt, Black Tarquin. This Belair stud horse was bred at the Claiborne Studof Arthur B. Hancock and is by Rhodes Scholar out of Sir Gallahad lTLs daughter, Vagrancy, one of the best mares ever seen on the American turf. In 1948, Black Tarquin was the talk of England and what greater praise could the British heap upon him than to compare him to Ormonde and St. Simon, considered to be two of the greatest racers ever seen on their turf. This spring, he has been in a class by himself and the Reuters correspondent wrote to this paper: "Black Tarquin cannot have a superior of his age in the world today. Only one horse came out to oppose him in the White Rose Stakes at Hurst Park, and it now appears that the fields will be small whenever he is entered in a race." AAA So, it could be that even though an American horse does not win the Epsom Derby, Black Tarquin does have a splendid chance of emulating Foxhall in the Ascot Gold Cup, which is often called the "number one race of the world." Iroquois, who won the Derby in 1881, was owned by Pierre Loriliard, and it was the late W. S. Vos-burgh, handicapper for The Jockey Club, who once remarked, "He bears himself like a gentleman." In a group of 10 yearlings, Iroquois was sent to England, and Fred Archer, who was the greatest jockey of his day, was so impressed by him that he asked that he be given the mount in the Derby. In that same year of 1881, the famous American . sportsman, James R. Keene, won the Grand Prix de Paris with his three-year-old Foxhall, then put him on a channel boat to England to win the Cambridgeshire and the Cesarewitch Stakes at Newmarket. The British were utterly astonished, but, in the next year they were even more so when Foxhall, as a four-year-old, won the Ascot Gold Cup at two and a half miles. Foxhall and Iroquois won more than their share of events in that year for, in nine starts, Iroquois won seven races, including the Prince of Wales Stakes, the St. James Palace Stakes and the St. Leger. AAA The English were gloomy after the victories of Iroquois and Foxhall. One turf scribe dubbed 1881 and 1882 "the American years," and implied that both were lucky, as the British -horses were not up to standard in those particular years. Another writer for a British breeding publication stated, "The American flag is now waving in the breezes over Ascot." Neither of these remarks should have caused any concern, but some American writers of the day promptly branded them as unsporting. Beyond that, however, the English were generous in their praise of the American horses. In the years just before World War n., Irish and French horses were having a high old time, crossing the channel and beating the best that England could offer. The victories of the "furriners" did cause considerable concern in British breeding circles, but on the whole they took the defeats in good part. Now that Black Tarquin has been performing so well by winning the St. Leger last year and continuing his winning ways this season, we have been watching carefully to read what the British have to say. To date, we have found nothing in English papers but the highest praise for this American-bred colt, so high in fact that they have no patience with us when we say that Citation is the best horse in the world today.
