view raw text
Derby Is Race of Breeding Episodes Count Turfs Score Highly Interesting 1951 Winner Was Sired by Derby Victor While His Grandsire Also Won Race RaceBy By NELSON DUNSTAN DUNSTANCHURCHILL CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky May 2 In the year 1875 a little red horse named Aristides won the first running of the Kentucky Derby Last year the sev ¬ entyseventh running of this most colorful horse race in America resulted in a victory for Count Turf and right there is one of the outstanding breeding episodes of the event for his sire Count Fleet and his grandsire Reigh Count were Derby winners before him From that first running down to the victory of Count Turf the Kentucky Derby has been the prize of the many great horses who later went on to fame in the breeding sheds at farms in this country Once just another horse race with 2850 to the winner the Derby is now an event with 100000 added and a race that at ¬ tracts 100000 people peopleAristides Aristides Inaugural Winner WinnerAristides Aristides first winner of the Derby was a colt by Leamington and that name spells the first of a thousand and one breeding items that have been written into the rec ¬ ords of the great Louisville threeyearold event For fourteen consecutive years 18611874 the immortal Lexington led the American sire list In 1875 he was toppled from the throne by Leamington who had been imported in 1865 Lexington again led in 1876 Leamington in 1877 Lexington in 1878 Leamington in 1879 Bonnie Scot ¬ land in 1880 Leamington in 1881 and Bonnie Scotland repeated in 1882 There have been many rivalries among stallions since that day but none to surpass that which was taking place in the very year that inauguratedLexington the Kentucky Derby was inaugurated Lexington never sired a Derby winner He wais foaled as a posthumous son of ofContinued Continued on Page TwentySix Breeding Episodes Tied In With Derby DerbyBoth Both Sire and Grandsire Of Count Turf 51 Winner Scored in Coveted Classic ClassicContinued Continued from Page TwentyThree TwentyThreeBoston Boston in March 1850 and died at the age of twentyfive in 1875 No other horse im ¬ ported or native ever left such a breeding record He sired more winners than Matchem Herod or Eclipse the mighty trio to whom one or the other every thorough ¬ bred in the world today traces in male descent His record of leading the American sire list for sixteen years has never been remotely approached approachedThere There are few thoroughbreds in America who do not carry Lexington blood in their veins and he is the one factor common in the American and French horses who now are stubborn rivals of those in England the country that had barred our horses from its stud book due to a flaw in Lexingtons pedigree pedigreeAlthough Although Aristides was by Leamington he was out of the mare Sarong a daughter of Lexington and the name of that great son of Boston will also be found in the pedigrees of such early Derby winners as Vagrant Day Star Lord Murhpy Apollo Leonatus Ben Ali and others Many came to challenge him especially Leamington but it was not until the year that the Derby was born that any rival caught up with him himGlencoe Glencoe Arrived in 1836 1836Many Many horses who were to be important factors in our breeding were brought to this country in those early years but space prevents our going into greater detail of their contributions to the Derby through sons and daughters Glencoe arrived in 1836 Australian in 1858 Bonnie Scotland in 1857 and Leamington in 1865 There were others of course and they too are found in the pedigrees of Derby winners right into the present century Glencoe begot Star Davis and Vandal and Star Davis sired the Derby winner Day Star who scored the most stunning upset by de ¬ feating Himyar in 1878 while Vandal was the grandsire of Vagrant winner in 1876 1876Between Between those years or in 1877 Baden Baden by Australian added his name to the Derbys beadroll Vandal was also the daddy of Virgil who sent the brown geld ¬ ing Vagrant to the winners circle in 1876 and then duplicated the feat with Hindoo one of Americas greatest race horses be ¬ fore the turn of the present century Right up to and even after the coming of the 1900s the names of Lexington Leaming ¬ ton Glencoe Australian and Virgil and others were in the bloodlines of Derby winners winnersWhen When the Kentucky Derby came into the present century the 1900 winner was Lieut Gibson a son of Virgil But although he earned only 4850 and it was still just another horse race the foundation of the three old American lines of Domino Ben Brush and Fair Play had been established establishedEclipse Eclipse imported in 1855 was the sire of Alarm the fastest miler up to his time ever seen in this country Alarm was the sire of Himyar who was defeated as said above by Day Star in the Derby of 1878 But Himyar when sent to stud sired Domi ¬ no the black whirlwind who later be ¬ came the founder of the greatest speed line in this or any other country countrySent Sent From State to State StateAfter After Bonnie Scotland arrived in 1857 he was sent from one state to another and although he had little appeal to our breed ¬ ers he sired Bramble and from the lat ters union with Roseville by Reform came Ben Brush winner of the Derby in 1896 and the horse who established his own line mainly middledistance runners Australian son of West Australian first Triple Crown winner in England was a great race horse but even a greater sire Australian was brought to this country a year before Bonnie Scotland and mated with Lavender a daughter of Wagner The result was BadenBaden winner of the Derby in 1877 But BadenBaden failed to carry on the male line and the only son that did was Spendthrift a fine race horse but like Australian a greater sire Spendthrift begot Hastings a cantanker ¬ ous mean horse whose disposition was not consistent with his racing ability or his powers in stud He was the sire of Fair Play who established the third American line lineNone None of the trio of Spendthrift Hastings or Fair Play made Derby history but the prowess of the clan is very evident in the Belmont Stakes which with the Derby and Preakness constitute the Triple Crown CrownFrom From 1900 on racing degenerated in the United States and the Kentucky Derby lost considerable prestige as did all other im ¬ portant races The second quartercentury of Derby history in no way compared with the first quarter From 1903 to 1910 racing lost ground throughout the United States Repressive legislation wiped out the sport in two of our greatest racing centers The TheContinued Continued on Page ThirtySeven Breeding Episodes Tied In With Derby DerbyBoth Both Sire and Grandsire Of Count Turf 51 Winner Scored in Coveted Classic ClassicContinued Continued from Page TwentySix TwentySixcrisis crisis came in 1908 and by 1912 the havoc was complete with only Kentucky and Maryland tracks maintaining a precarious existence Breeding was at the lowest ebb of all time Values were depreciated and there was no market for thethoroughbred Hundreds of horses were shipped to Europe or South America Derby winners came and went quickly into oblivion Five mediocre horses answered the Derby bugle in 1904 and only three went postward in 1905 That was the period in which class or quality meant little to the owners and they were not wasting their horses by shipping them to Kentucky for a race which would have cost them far more in expenses than the Derby purses pursesGained Gained in Prestige From 1916 On OnUntil Until 1915 the winners of the Kentucky Derby played little part in the breeding of this country From 1916 on the Derby slowly gained prestige Inf 1921 Behave Yourself defeated Black Servant but the latter was the sire of many good ones in ¬ cluding Blue Larkspur one of the best of his time Then came Morvich Zev Flying Ebony Bubbling Over and Whiskery Bub ¬ bling Over was the best of that group in stud A horse of real beauty and tremen ¬ dous speed he sent many good ones to the races including Burgoo King winner of the Derby in 1932 His daughter Baby League was the producer of Busher and Mr Busher It was Bubbling Over in this writers opinion who started the Derby again as a threeyearold event that was to point out many sires of the future futureBy By 1928 the Kentucky Derby had passed the 50000 mark in value to the winner and firmly took its place as one of the most colorful horse races in the world The quality of the competition was much high ¬ er In 1928 Mrs John Hertz Reigh Count was the winner and like Exterminator he went on to become one of the foremost cup horses of this country He was shipped to England to win the Coronation Plate and finished second to Invershin in the Ascot Gold Cup of 1929 He was the sire of Lady Reigh winner of the Coaching Club American Oaks and others but his great greatContinued Continued on Page Forty Breeding Episodes Tied In With Derby DerbyBoth Both Sire and Grandsire Of Count Turf 51 Winner Scored in Coveted Classic ClassicContinued Continued from Page ThirtySeven ThirtySevenest est youngster by far was Count Fleet win ¬ ner of the Triple Crown in 1943 and since that year a success in stud studMan Man o War the son of Fair Play did not start in the Derby but his name was listed on the sire roster when his gelded son Clyde Van Dusen was the winner in 1929 Eight years later when Big Red was champion sire of the country he sent War Admiral on to score for him again War Admiral was regarded as the best son of the Riddle champion and if he did not prove that on the race course he left no doubt of it in the breeding sheds With War Relic it appears as if this line will carry on onLate Late Years Have Brought Changes ChangesDuring During the past quarter century the Derby sire list has taken on a very different complexion due to the fact that American breeders have been buyers of noted stal ¬ lions in England Ireland France and other countries It was natural that in time the progeny of these importations would make their appearance in the winners circle at Churchill Downs Sir Gallahad m is one of the greatest if not the greatest horse brought to our shores since Leamington and in 1930 his son Gallant Fox became his first Derby winner Gallahadion and Hoop Jr were to follow That became a period of winnersbywinners In 1935 Omaha the son of Gallant Fox duplicated his daddys feat by joining the small list of Triple Crown winners Insco another son of Sir Gallahad m sired Lawrin winner in 1938 Since the victory of Gallant Fox many of those who won and others who ran second or third have sent out hundreds of winners of important events It would require books to tell the full story That imported stallions are making deeper im ¬ pressions on breeding of this country is demonstrated by the records recordsSt St Germans was imported by John Hay Whitney and he sired one of the best horses of his day in Twenty Grand the Derby winner in 1931 The English sire Lancegaye joined the roster when Caval ¬ cade defeated Discovery in 1934 St Ger ¬ mans came back into the picture when Bold Venture defeated Brevity in 1936 After Gallahadion won in 1940 for Sir Gallahad m the imported Blenjieim XT in 1941 sent out Whirlaway who like Gallant For Omaha and War Admiral was to join the Triple Crown list In 1944 the great English stallion Hyperion was recorded as a Derby sire with the victory of Pensive PensiveSince Since Pensive scored for Hyperion six Derby renewals have been run and they all attest the influence of sires who were im ¬ ported or that of their sons In 1945 it was Hoop Jr by Sir Gallahad III 1945 Assault by Bold Venture 1947 Jet Pilot by Blenheim H 1948 Citation by Bull Lea a son of the imported Bull Dog 1949 Ponder by Pensive Two years ago a new page of Derby history was written when Middleground scpred over Hill Prince and for the first time in Derby history a horse who had won the Derby himself was credited with two winners Assault and Middleground were sired by Bold Venture VentureFrom From War Admiral in 1937 the Ken ¬ tucky Derby took its rightful place as a breeders race in every sense of the ex ¬ pression Colts and fillies by War Admiral Count Fleet Jet Pilot and others have brought high prices as yearlings and the racing world is now keenly awaiting the colts and fillies by Citation Coaltown Capot Hill Prince Faultless and Mr Trou ¬ ble who were prominent in Derby runnings in the past four years Despite early set ¬ backs the Derby strategy grew in popular appeal until it now is the most colorful horse race staged in this country Winners and their powers to sire later winners was forcibly brought home by the triumvirate of Reigh Count Count Fleet and last years winner Count Turf
