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i ■ r» , v n [reflections By Nelson Dunstan- Scores of Attractive Yearlings in Kentucky Who Is Worlds Greatest Horse Salesman? H. H. Knight Sells Thirty Mares to Newcomers Bill Evans Busy Kentucky Sales Executive NEW YORK, N. Y., June 24. Kentucky Jottings: While Sun Bahrain was winning at Delaware last Saturday, "Pete" Curran, manager for Mrs. Eben Ellison, Jr. the former Mrs. Willis Sharpe Kilmer, was in Kentucky tucky arranging arranging to to have have the the son son of of Bah- r» i , v ■ n tucky arranging arranging to to have have the the son son of of Bah- Bahrain — Suntica placed in stud for the 1953 breeding season. Four Blue Grass breeders are desirous of taking the horse, but Curran will discuss the situation with Mrs. Ellison before making a decision. . . . Royce Martin, master of Wood vale Farm, is fast recovering from his recent illness. . . . Before he settled down to become one of the worlds foremost breeders, Leslie Combs, n., of Spendthrift Farm, was a jack-of -all-trades, one of his jobs being that of a "coffee taster" in South America. . . . Alex Gordon, now at Elmhurst Elmhurst Farm, Farm, is is readying readying three three yearlings yearlings Elmhurst Elmhurst Farm, Farm, is is readying readying three three yearlings yearlings for the Keeneland salesring. . . . The late John E. Madden s gymnasium is now the office at Hamburg Place, which today is operated by C. F. Morris. But much of the original gym- nastic equipment remains. Maddens executors also left his office files and Morris was kind enough to give us a copy of many of the old masters maxims, which have since become famous in the racing and breeding worlds. Some day we will do a column on them. In Kentucky, the subject of off-track betting is a hot potato, and there was much interest in the opinions expressed by Herbert Bayard Swope and commissioner Ashley T. Cole before the Wicks Senate Committee of New York State on the subject. ... Once we rode with Barney Oldfield, the greatest auto driver of them aU, but, for a real thriller, we recommend a drive through the Claiborne paddocks at Paris, Ky., in the station wagon of Arthur B. Hancock, Jr. . . . Joe Keith, the man with a legion of friends, is opening a new "little place" in Lexington, and we bet that within a few months it will be a horsemens rendevous. ... A question that always stops this writer cold is. "Do you think this years yearling crop is better than that of last year?" How any man can compare approximately 400 yearlings of one year with the 400 yearling of the following year, is beyond us. AU we can say is that in this 1952 crop are some of the finest youngsters we have ever laid eyes upon. . . . In 1951, the Keeneland sales showed an increase of 37 per cent an average of ,237 over the same sales of 1950, so if the vendues, which open on July 28, hold against the averages of 1951, the market wiU be deemed a strong one by the vast majority of breeders. Down through the years, men have been referred to as "the worlds greatest horse salesman." There were many, the list including, John E. Madden, Ben AU Haggin, Col. Phil T. Chinn, Arthur B. Hancock, Sr., and others. As to who was the "greatest," this writer does not pretend to know for it must be remembered that many of them operated in different eras and when prices for horses were not what they are tody. Of late years, the names of the Aga Khan and Marcel Boussac, the famous French breeder, have become well known to those who follow the sport in this country. Without the horses those two men sold to our breeders the American racing and breeding setup of the past 25 years would have to be entirely rewritten. The activities of Leslie Combs, H., and Henry H. Knight in this country, we dare say, would qualify them as great, if not the greatest, of horse salesmen. Combs and Arthur B. Hancock, Jr., have, within a few years, built two of the finest stallion forces to be found anywhere in the world. Since taking over his fathers duties, young Hancock has added Nasrullah, Ambio-rix, Black Tarquin, Prince Simon and Hill Prince to the impressive stallion group at their Kentucky establishment, and he gives every promise of carrying on where his father left off when illness caused his retirement. Like Combs, Hancock know? the kind of stallions and mares that are necessary for quality production and high yearling prices. Henry H. Knight of Almahurst is a super-salesman and, we might add, a super-buyer of horses. His series of breath-taking purchases has ever been a source of amazement to us. Hardly has he completed one transaction than he is busy with another. His latest is the sale of 30 finely bred broodmares to Mr. and Mrs. Frank C. Bishop, of Reno, Nev. Like many others, these new people of the sport have been brought in by Knight, and they have purchased a ranch near Monterey, Calif. The mares will be delivered there in October. Knight has 180 mares at his Almahurst Farm, and he gave the Bishops a list of 70 of them, saying they could select any 30 they desired. In that way, they could choose mares that were in foal and they took daughters of Sir Gallahad III., Bull Dog, Blue Larkspur, Blenheim II., and others. By 1954, the Bishops will be consignors to the thoroughbred markets in California and eastern centers. Another Knight deal now in progress involves 50 mares. When this is completed, another new name wUl be added to the list of breeders. At Saratoga this summer, Knight wUl seU 48 yearlings. After a quarter of a century of covering vendues at the upstate Spa, this writer is of the opinion that the consignment is the finest ever offered under the banner of the Fasig-Tipton Company. One of the busiest men in breeding today is Bill Evans, manager of the Breeders Sales Company at Lexington. We might also add that he is one of the proudest, for his wife recently presented him with a youngster that Bill himself describes as "A real roan colt, who stands 22 inches, balances the scale at 10 pounds, two ounces, and seems to delight in a wet track." Besides the myriad duties of managing the sales office, supervising the Keeneland sales paddock, Evans also has much to say regarding the improvements at the Keeneland arena. There is a new office there, where buyers of horses will have more privacy than heretofore, and, with air-cooling throughout, there is seating capacity for about 430 people. A new entrance has been built for the horses being brought into the salesring, and. also, an attractive little clubhouse, with facilities for serving food and drink. Last years experiment of one long sale during the afternoon, leaving the evening free for bidders and buyers, was so successful that it will be carried on this year. Evans has done a bang-up job in his capacity of general manager. Second to the newly arrived baby at his home, his pride is in the comforts he has instituted at the Keeneland salesring.
