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The Caves Stands Three Fine Sires Fisher Family Very Active Around Breeding Farm; Own Large Group of Broodmares By NANCY G. LEE ECCLESTON, Md., June 17. Activities at The Caves, Eccleston, Md., are strictly a family affair. With three of his daugh ters, Ann, Eugenia and Julia, J anon Fisher, Jr., inns this large farm where the horse population runs into a good-sized figure. They stand three sires there, Swashbuckler, his son, Shivaree, and the syndicated stallion, Hunters Moon IV., as well as the hunter sire, Maryland Day, who is o w n p hv T5r C TT Scheid. Swashbuckler handles his .22 years lightly and his appearance is almost an exact replica of his grandsire, Man o War. Hunters Moon TV", was bred to 29 mares this season, seven of whom were Swashbuckler mares who were also bred to him last year and all of them have foals. Fisher has 12 mares of his own and five belonging to -the above mentioned daughters, 16 of whom are homebreds. His practice of giving a broodmare to a daughter when she finishes school helps keep the broodmare ranks filled as fillies are usually raced and brought back to the farm. Having had three other daughters to whom he gave mares, the six ladies are well represented in the owners ranks now. Farm Located Near Hunt Club Since he rents the farm of Thomas Eastman, which is located near the Elk-ridge-Harford Hunt Club, during the hunting season, the hunting hunters are kept there and with four or five going out on Saturday and one each for Julia and Fisher during the week, it is more con- venient to stable them in -.that section. However, when the fox hunting is over, hunters come back to The Caves and now there are nine geldings and six fillies yearlings at the Eastman place. The three daughters handle the breaking of the yearlings and this year they may be left at Eastmans instead, of bringing them back to The Caves. With the track at Pimlico available- to try yearlings after the Tinomium meeting and prior to Pimlicos fall meeting, some 200 youngsters go to Old Hilltop during that time. This means starting earlier with them in the summer and yearlings coming from Saratoga or other summer sales may have to be pushed right along if their owners want them tried before the track closes. At the Fisher farm, the yearlings are started in. a paddock and then graduate to the fields where they are exercised daily. As they are handled daily from the day they are foaled, the yearlings as a rule do not present much of a problem during their breaking. The chestnut filly by Double Brandy Mischievous, by Swashbuckler, who was Continued on Page Fifty-Four ADVT. Activity at The Caves Strictly Family Affair Fishers Have Large Broodmare Band and Three Popular Sires Continued from Page Thirty-Three champion of the recent yearling show at Pimlico, was not at the farm, but her dam was in the field with the broodmares. She has a chestnut colt foal by Hunters Moon IV. and has been bred back to him. The good looking chestnut yearling colt by War Relic Laelia, by War Admiral, is at the farm and has developed quite a bit since the show when he won the colt class for produce of mares covered in states other than Maryland in 1953. His dam has a bay colt foal by Hunters Moon IV. A big colt is the yearling who was second in this class. He is by War Admiral Kothra, by Swashbuckler, and both these yearlings have three crosses of Man o War in their pedigrees. Kothra has a chestnut filly foal by Hunters Moon IV. Kothra is an example of thebroodmares to be found at The Caves as her dam, Priestress, was bred by Fisher, the latters dam being Cassandra. Cassandra is also represented by a gray mare, Booty. Booty was an outstanding mare over fences, but became blind as a five-year-old. Unlike most broodmares with the same affliction, she is not confined to a paddock by herself. She roams the large field with the other mares and foals and her colt foal this year has the proverbial bell so that he can be located. This farm has always been closely associated with breeding and making horses for the timber ranks. While Fisher trains horses on the flat for himself and his daughters and now has a two-year-old by Swashbuckler Marque at Delaware Park for his son, Janon TJI. who will soon be out of the Marines, there is always a timber horse lurking in the background. Timber enthusiasts well remember the great Blockade and Fisher not only trained him, but also galloped him, right up until he was turned over to his rider, Fred Col-will, prior to starting for his last outing in the Virginia Gold Cup. William Tyndall, who came to The Caves in 1928, also galloped the timber horse and now William is kept busy with the stallions, mares and yearlings. His theory for being able to lead out yearlings with enviable coats is to "brush the hair and not the hide." Fisher recently sold the timber horse, Sohrab, to Rigan McKinney. Now a nine-year-old, Sohrab was looked over by McKinney as a yearling, but at that time he was with Banner Waves and the latter was-bought, trained and chalked up stakes victories for his owner. Now, eight years later, Sohrab was purchased, but Kathleen McKinney will use him for point-to-points and possibly return him to the timber ranks. In the stable is the Case Ace gelding, Ladys Ace, whom Fisher has hunted for three seasons. He has started once over timber, that outing being at My Ladys Manor with Janon n. also riding at a sanctioned-meeting for the first time. The pair finished third. There are- two four-year-olds at the farm whom the Fishers are just beginning to school and after about a couple of seasons in the hunting field, they will be given serious schooling for the timber ranks. With Janon TJI. finishing his time with the Marines, he will come back not only to timber horses in the making, but there are two good foals to work on. Brindisi, by Swing and Sway, was small when foaled, but Janon m. took care of her and this year she has a bay colt by Hunters Moon IV. His Bimelech mare, Masque, "has a chestnut filly foal, a full sister to the two-year-did now? to training. 1 -
