view raw text
fljfr Stallion Directory and Farm Register !N. — Baaa wmmmmmmmfmrn Bloodlines St. Simon Regarded Greatest Breeding Factor in 100 Years By LEON RASMUSSEN . " "We have received with pleasure the centenary number of "The Sporting Life," a famous English turf publication. A popular paper through six reigns, the 100 years of "The Sporting Life" has covered and reported many historic sporting events in "the tight little isle." In this issue, many of them are reviewed with especial emphasis on the turf. There is an* article on the Crowns, interest in racing during this period — "Victoriana to new Elizabethan," which confidently p r e d i c ts "and the best of it is yet to come. . . ." There is also a story on how the transportation of thoroughbreds has changed during the past 100 years, cheerfully titled "No Walking the Babies Back Home These Days." There is a yarn on the Grand National and an excellent one on Englands most famous riders of the past century recalling the feats of Fordham and Cannon; Maher and Woot-ton; Donoghue and Richards. . . . Riders of Great Renown, but "None Like Archer." However, of most engrossing interest to this corner was the breeding article by the noted British authority, John Hislop, who considers St. Simon the greatest factor in the evolution of the thoroughbred in the years between 1859 and 1959. Increase in Speed; Decline in Stamina •At the same time, Hislop notes that the outstanding development in the ,breed has been increased speed and an accompanying decline in stamina, a condition which Hislop deplores. There is even more to deplore in this country. One metropolitan racing center does not offer so much as one major stakes at our classic distance of a mile and one-quarter or beyond. Nevertheless, Hislop believes St. Simon to be "the horse of the century, the first of the modems in make and shape. Supreme on the tracks and never even extended, St. Simon was also a tremendous success as a- sire. He has exercised the greatest influence on the breed. He was the champion sire on nine occasions, getting many outstanding race horses." Oddly enough, St. Simons line virtually died out in Britain, only to be revived by importations from France. Foaled in 1881, St. Simon, says Hislop, "-was the progenitor of the 20th century race horse— a horse who had developed beyond his contemporaries. The Eclipse of his era, he was the first of a new type; shorter in proportion to his height than his predecessors, such as Newminster and Stockwell, and capable of sustained speed against which no other horse of his day could live, whatever the distance of the race. . . . Though male line waned in this country, it has reappeared through Bois Roussel and Prince Chevalier, and his influence through his daughters and descendants has been immense and permanent." In this country, St. Simons line was revitalized with the importation of Princequillo, the first St. Simon line sire to lead our stallion roster. The lines future seems assured for some time to come with Princequillos fine son Dedicate now at stud and another, the Horse of the Year, Round Table, heading that way in 1960. Turning to "What of the Future?", Hislop says that "While records show that our milers have improved during the last 10 years, taking as a guide the times of the Two Thousand Guineas, the results of the Derby indicate a distinct falling off in the quality of our middle - distance horses, while the cup races show our stayers to have sunk far below pre-war level on average. In spite of periodical, brilliant exceptions, such as Crepello in the case of the Derby winners and Alycidon in that of Cup horses, this is a serious trend and should not be disregarded. We still have some wonderful material in the country Great Britain. Our success or failure during the years which lie ahead depends upon the way in which it is used." French Bear Out Contention Hislops concern is certainly well-founded, for the French, who breed more stamina into their horses, have taken home a goodly number of Englands classic and semi-classic prizes since the war, and the successful incursions of such Italian giants as Ribot and Botticelli have proved that stamina need not be sacrificed at the altar of speed to produce classic horses capable of winning at all distances. The late Fed-erico Tesio alway isnsisted upon a "speed line" in any planned pedigree. But Tesios "speed line" did not have the same connotation as a "speed line" in England and America. What Tesio wanted and insisted upon was a horse who could win from five to 15 furlongs, usually making his own Ainning. In recent years, America has imported quite a number of "Guineas" type stallions to this country from England and Ireland. Should American racing reassert itself and program a sensible assortment of classic and cup type races, which are so popular with the fans and which are necessary to point out our superior horses, the demand for stallions capable of siring the winners of such races may find buyers in this country looking toward France and Italy rather than Great Britain. Breeding for pure speed is a form of degeneracy, a deterioration, a marked decline below the type of horse we are trying to produce. Hislop recognizes that Great Britains "playing" to our market is housing many dangers, a threat to the supremacy of the British thoroughbred in Europe and with it the threatened loss of the American market.
