CONCERNING SPEARMINT

The \ictory of the Carbine colt Spcarmmt in the English Derby maiks such a ied-leti<»r .torn in our turf history that tl><> fol'owinfr remark* in inference to his pp.hqree will no doubt interest, breeders and sportsmen genoially in this part of the world. "Writing in January !a«t, the Sp-erial Commissioner of the Sportsman said :— "' Soearniint was foaled on Anril 6. 1903. Hpi-p again is a No. 1 pedigieo, frhf dan. Ma:rl ef ihe Mint, being- pcculiaily well bred to that figure, for her sire, Minting, is b-v a No. 1 horc-e out of a No. 1 maw. She is a mare calculated to give great bone and substance to h^r stock, for Minting, Skylark, and Thunderbolt, who come in the first three removes, all suggest massive bulk. It is probable that No. 3 family— mainly through Pocahontas — is more than any other responsible for the merits of Spearmint, for Stockwell occurs three times and King Tom once, while Musket 3 and his sire, Toxophilite 3 together with Know=ley 3 further reinforc-e the figure. That Spearmint will be at l«ast as good a horse as his three-parts brother. Warfrrave, whom he- much re=emb!-es. I do not doubt , indeed. th<* addition of Minting to his peditn«e pncn him the advantage."' It must be admitted that Spearmint does not come, of one of the mo^t distinguiehed branches of the No. 1 family— that ib to

say, in the light of recent turf history, — but he takes the line through Preserve (by Emilius), winner of the One Thousand Guineas -of her year, and own sister to Mango, winner of the St. Lege-r, and Mangosteen, from whom descended Lady Elizabeth, Dietm, Craig Millar, and many other good ones. Among the descendants of Preserve herself were Speculum and John Davis, not to mention Yellow Jack, and Wargrave has quit© recently given further proofs of the family's stamina. Then, if it were thought that this branch of No, 1 was to some extent languishing, what better could be done than to use Minting, with his double lines of No. 1, to bring the family merit to the surface, a 9 was done in the breeding of Maid of the Mint (dam of Spearmint) V It seems to me to have- been the one thing needful in combination with Carbine. Spearmint is a very fine colt, with better laid shoulders than his eire. He stands just about 16 hands, having rather high wither^. Like co many horses, with colonial -blood in them, he droops somewhat in his croup, but that is no fault, length from hip to hoclt being the main essential in the hind-stroke. For a formation such as Spearmint's, the quarters and thiglis need to be very well let down and muscular, and the hocks should incline to be of the straight sort, but, on the other hand. Hi:. Sort, who has both drooping quarters and hocks away from him, was a good racehorse. It is idle to dogmatise on such matters, as some French writers have done.