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California . By Oscar Otis Naylor Sale Centers Coast Interest Many Choice Broodmares in Group Mobile Wins Thrilling Haggin Stakes HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., June 24. One of Californias great thoroughbred farms, the W. W. Naylor produc tion unit at Riverside, reaches the end of the trail come Monday afternoon and the complete dispersal of the substantial Naylor holdings. The future of the farm itself is another matter, but all Naylor stock goes on the block without reserve in the sale to be conducted by Fasig-i Tipton. This is per j haps the most important dispersal in California since the break-up of the Louis B. Mayer turf empire, and the bidding interest, especially on the choice mares assembled by Naylor through the years, is national in scope. The production record of the mares has been exceptionally good, and a typical group of foals, 247 some 21 got to the races and 21 were returned winners, of which seven either won or placed in stakes. Naylor is consigning 37 broodmares, five of whom are Bull Lea matrons. Among the others, there are Alibhais, Blenheim II.s, Menows and Kings Abbey matrons. In addition, there, are 16 yearlings, three two-year-olds, plus an -assortment of foals at side, who, as we reported some days ago in this column, will be given away, pur guess being the recipients will, be the purchaser of the mare. This unusual situation came about through a technicality in the tax laws governing Naylors turf-financial set-up. While the sales stock has been available for inspection for the last several weeks, an open house all day Sunday is expected to attract most probable buyers to the .farm for a final pre-sales inspection, and, of course, all Monday morning, and up uniil sales time at 2:30 Monday after-" noon will be available to lookers. This observer rather anticipates a deter- mined bid on the part of Californians to keep a majority of the best mares in the consignment in the state, for loss of too many of these fine pi-oducing matrons would be construed as a distinct setback to California breeding, which has been expanding its holdings of fine broodmares at a rapid rate. Many Californians, for instance, are sorry now that they let so many of the Mayer mares go to the East and would not like to see a similar incident occur again. However, during the period between the Mayer and Naylor dispersals there has been a general awakening as to the part good mares play in a successful breeding Operation, and a far more balanced thinking now prevails as between sires and mares. The mature realization of how great a part the broodmare plays have been hastened, of course, by the coming of age of the California breeders sale at Del Mar, which, for the first time last summer, proved itself up as a third great national market. It is with extreme regret that West Coasters witness the retirement of Naylor as a breeder for his influence- has been considerable. In assembling the-Bull Lea mares, for instance, he often purchased other horses to make a package, in order to get the one filly he desired, later selling off the others in the package. He also introduced "out-sized paddocks" in the congested Southern California area, having but 15 paddocks on the 650 acres, the largest single grazing-romping area being 43 acres. By California standards, these are enormous acreages, and many of our top horses have been raised on far less square footage. Naylor also did much to t prove up, on a major scale, the merit of the California school of thinking which sees a horse spend most of the time out of doors. While there is stabling Continued on Page Fifty-Nine c I of " California By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page; Six for those horses needing special attention, in general, the Nay lor stock has led an open life quite close to nature. California long has been known as one of the best markets in the world for a made horse, for the last three years has developed as a buyer of yearlings, as witness the seasons at Keeneland where a million dollars or so, give or take a hundred thousand, were expended by Golden Staters, and now, in all probability the Naylor vendue will demonstrate that the final link in a strong breeding chain has been completed, namely, that a group of broodmares such s- Naylor has to offer will find quite as ready a market here as anywhere else, specifically, Kentucky. Because the sale is so important and because its many implications, Western turf interest over the ,week end will center exclusively at .the Riverside property. The Haggin Stakes on Thursday provided one of the most thrilling stake contests of the meeting when Mobile, Terke, and Nuclear Power came down heads apart after this trio engaged in,, a three-way duel for a great deal of the-five-furlong distance. These three were heads apart at the head of the stretch, although not in the exact order of finish, and stayed just heads apart to the bitter end. It was notable that the first two, Mobile and Fcrke, were California -breds. And the winner, Mobile, also successful in the second division of the June Juvenile at this meeting, graduated with eclat in that his unquestioned turn of early speed was under a severe test for the whole distance. Any horse that runs all the way is entitled, we feel sure, to considerable credit. And because of the narrow margins at the end, Ferke and Nuclear Power both ran races which under ordinary circumstances would have been quite sufficient to have won such a 1 stake as the Haggin. Mobile is a Count Speed from the .smallish mare Kinder-, garten, whose produce all have been winner. Kindergarten was a .runner, make no mistake. The Haggin was a cleanly run race and no horse, as we saw it, had a valid excuse.
