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Sires and Dams By Ntilf.on Dunyian Kentucky Derby Attests Hyperions Class Name in Pedigree of Lost Throe Winners Blootl Will Toll True Breeding Adage NISW YORK, N, V„ May ll.—Tho eighty-second running of the Kentucky Derby to but another teatl-montal to the truth of the breeding expression: "Blood Will Tell." mul the groatnesa of Hyperion, .ho worlda fore-moat aire. The namea or Btookwell, "the emperor of stalllona," and othera have come down through the yoara but we doubt, tn the rlnttl iinalyfito, that any or them uccom-pliahed more thuu Hyperion Um In theao modern yeiua. During the wur period, when IShtduud wna Imvlim u rough time or It, un American group endeavored to buy Hyperion but Lord Derby gave hi;! now rainoua anawer, "Hyperion will never leave these ahorea even If England In reduced to Jiahwi." American breeder. then did the next Ixvit thing and Imported many of hl« aona to thla country. The three moat ;iucceayful are Allbhal, Khaled and Hellopolla, and ao fur jus the Derby la concerned, wo mast add. Pen.slve. Jn UMH the name of Hyperion flntt came. Into Derby pedigrees for ho wa.s the .sire of Hydroplane II., who produced Citation, one or tho best American horaun or all time. In UMl Hyperions .son Ponalvo won and then , begot Ponder, winner or the Derby over Capot, Palestinian and 11 others. A Son of Englands Famed Gainsborough For the next five years the name of Hyperion was missing* from Derby pedigrees but In tho past three years the winners trace to him In the male line. In 1951. the winner was Determine, whose aire Is Allbhal; in 1955 It was Swaps, by Khaled, and now Needles, a grandson of Pensive. This Is something of a feat for any sire but the more one studies the history of Hyperion the more he realizes what a truly great stallion he has been. A son of Gainsborough out o.C the famous mare Selene, he, too, is proof of the adage that blood will tell. Gainsborough was the winner of the 1918 war time English Triple Crown. He sired many horses who went on to fame, but his best undoubtedly was Hyperion. The latter is a small horse, being under 15.2 hands. He aided in exploding the longtime theory, as did our own Lexington, that a horse with four white feet is of little value. It does seem rather strange that Hyperion is ranked today as the most influential living sire in this country. He never set foot on American soil but his sons are doing a powerful job for him. Hyperions brilliant record, both in racing and at stud, is an absorbing story. He was the best race horse of his day in England. He was unbeaten as a three-year-old and led the Free Handicap at .13G pounds. He was six times leading sire in England and has had a *» worldwide influence in thoroughbred breeding. When he was Englands leading sire in 1954 his sons Helio-polis, Alibhai and Khaled ranked first, second and seventh on the American sire list. Hyperion is 26 years old. Alibhai was bred by the Aga Khan and was sold as a yearling to Louis B. Mayer in 1939. This son of Hyperion from the great producer Teresina, by Tracery, was retired to the Mayer farm in California in 1941. Leslie Combs n. and a group of breeders paid 00,000 to purchase Alibhai, who now stands at Combs Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky. Combs also organized the group that paid ,250,200 for Nashua and at the end of this year he too will be retired to Spendthrift. Alibhai was the she of Determine, who won the Santa Anita and Kentucky Derbys. Hope Queens Aureole Can Maintain Line Pensive won the Kentucky Derby in 1944 and sired Ponder, the winner in 1949. Ponder, in turn, is the sire of Needles, so, as in the case of Heigh Count, Count Fleet and Count Turf, we have another set of sire, son and grandson on the Derby roster. This country is well supplied with Hyperion blood. English breeders are well aware of this. They would like to have the three good sons of Hyperion on the other side. They are now placing their faith in the Queens horse, Aureole, who is by Hyperion out of Angelola, by Dona-tello II. Pictures show Aureole to be an aristocrat among thoroughbreds and one who should do well for the Hyperion line overseas. His book was filled for three years when he was retired to stud and on the other side it is hoped that the qualities of speed, stamina and courage will be transmitted to a future winner of the Epsom Derby. It is doubtful whether Aureole will ever be sold out of England, but with Alibhai, Heliopolis and Khaled, this country is well supplied with Hyperion blood.
