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WEIGHING IN By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page Forty-Eight less, we are on perfectly safe ground when we say that they are both precocious and gifted with intense speed. We have by no means forgotten "the astonishing performance of the Nasrullah colt, Mister Gus, down the Widener chute here at Belmont Park last fall, while it may be added that about alL the other Nasrullahs we have watched in the interim bear a certain family resemblance, both in conformation and in style, to that same Mister Gus. Now with Never Say Die, we learn that the family is capable of carrying its admitted speed for- as far as three -year-olds are usually asked to travel. With a Derby winner to his credit, Nasrullah can hardly be accused of siring mere sprinters. All in all, it seems to have been a fortunate day for Claiborne, and for American breeding, when this young stallion was brought to his new home in Kentucky. When Pierre Lorilh - bon of the turf" b majority of citizens scored such an inte New Orleans. Tod vescense of nations indeed, and yet Rol colt, Never Say Die, has been the envy half a century. Iroq an imported stallioi is sired by imported lard champion, Ma through, while Singi is about as America The real rejoicing a to be at Arthur B. I est living breeder 1 from Ireland to star Dies female line is the wonderful Frer late William Wood mid 1920s. Never Sj at Claiborne, but n more pleased at tin W E I G H I N G I N By EVAN shipman BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y., June 3. As far as we know, the Stock Exchange remained open for business yesterday; boat whistles in the harbor were normal, and even the air-raid warning sirens were not crying "Wolf! Wolf!" and yet an American horse had won the Epsom Derby! Autres temps Autres moeurs! irds Iroquois captured the "blue rib-ack in 1881, the eagle screamed, the 5 conceding that Uncle Sam had not rnational triumph since the Battle of ay, in comparison with that effer-il good spirits, the reaction is tame bert Sterling Clarks Kentucky-foaled has actually accomplished a feat that of our owners and breeders for over Luois if you recall had been sired by i, Leamington, just as Never Say Die I Nasrullah, but the dam of the Loril-ggie B. B., was Yankee through and ing Grass, a daughter of War Admiral, m as thoroughbreds come these days. this splendid overseas victory ought lancocks Claiborne Farm. Our great-arought the winners sire, Nasrullah, id at his famous stud, while Never Say rich in the blood of Sir Gallahad m., ich stallion whom Hancock and the ward brought to this country in the y Die was bred by his owner, and not ot even Robert Sterling Clark can be 5 colts success, or more closely asso- Iroquois Epsom Derby Set Off Celebration Latest Victory Is Received Mildly Here Unfortunate That Owner Could Not See Race Colts Breeding Stems From Many Lands ciated with the pattern of breeding that produced it, than is the master of Claiborne. AAA What a pity that Clark could not have been at Epsom yesterday to lead in his good colt and receive the Queens congratulations! That is a moment that represents the zenith of happiness to a sportsman, a moment that amply compensates for all the myriad failures and disappointments attendant on the breeding and racing of thoroughbreds. The truth must be that Never Say Dies, chances were considered so lightly that. it did not appear worthwhile to make the trip, easy and swift as communications are in these days of air travel. Clarks brother, F. Ambrose Clark, with whose racing colors we, in this country, are much more familiar, won a surprising Liverpool Grand National with Kellsboro Jack back in 1933, or rather his wife won it, he turning the chaser over to her for the sum of one pound just prior to the running. This Derby, however, is undoubtedly the well-known familys greatest turf victory, and we sincerely regret that they were all not present to make the most of it. AAA Robert Sterling Clark belongs to a generation that was actually conscious of Englands superiority over the rest of the world in many matters, of which the turf was merely one. Those whose impressions were formed in the latter years of the last century do not have to be reminded that "Brittania ruled the waves," and much else besides, in those days. A -victory over them in any sport ing event provoked a manifestation of national pride. It sounds like a joke to modern ears, but we can assure you that when the French colt, Gladiateur, won the Epsom Derby in 1865, the Count de Lagranges great homebred was hailed throughout his native land as "the avenger of Waterloo," and the reason why Iroquois victory a generation later was celebrated from one end of this country to the other was simply because it was universally felt that a "true blue" American had succeeded iri "tweaking the lions tail" for once. Is there any need of repeating that times have changed? AAA Never Say Dies pedigree will, of course, be the subject of much comment. At present; we are forced to confine ourselves to the most superficial treatment, or rather no treatment at all, merely a few chance remarks. Nasrullah, whose products have shown astonishing speed in this country, is a son of the unbeaten Italian horse, Nearco; his dam, Mumtaz Begum, adding the Blandfbrd and The Tetrarch strains to those of Cyllene and St. Simon through Phalaris and Rabelais. Through Never Say Dies dam, the War Admiral mare, Singing Grass, the Derby winner inherits both Fair Play and Teddy blood, all this adding up to a total "polyglot" enough to please any Internationalist. England, Ireland, France, Italy and the United States have all made their contributions to this pedigree; to an unusual degree, it seems to represent the intelligent effort, or the trend, in many lands to produce a type on which these diverse breeders arc in greater agreement now than ever previously in the long history of the sport. AAA The oldest Nasrullahs that we can recall seeing are only three-year-olds now, and so it would be premature to come to any conclusion concerning them. Neverthe- Continued on Page Thirty-Eight
