CHAMPIONS COMPARED

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 8, 10 July 1939, Page 13

CHAMPIONS COMPARED

The English Derby winner Blue Peter has been highly praised by the critics, and he is evidently a* colt of' beautiful balance and splendid physique. The measurements of the Derby. colts came to hand in a recent exchaiwje and those of Blue Peter are as follows:—Height, 16.01 hands; girth, 74in; • bone below knee, Bin; and rein, 50in. The tallest of the Derby colts were Hastings, 16.2£, and Fox Cub, who finished second, 16.2. Hastings has a girth of 76in, and a rein of 46in. Fox Cub is much smaller in the girth, than both Blue Peter and Hastings, being only 68in with a rein of 46in. . The measurements' of Blue" Peter make an interesting comparison with those of Ajax, Defaulter, and Phar Lap,' although they were taken at different stages of the horses'' careers. Blue Peter and Defaulter were measured as three-year-olds, in the spring and autumn respectively, while Ajax and Phar Lap .were both measured as four-year-olds. Details of the measurements are as. follows: — Height, hands. Girtii. Bone. I!«in. Blue Peter ... 16.0 ft 74 8 50 Ajax 16.1 73 9& -42 Defaulter ... 16.3 74 fl 47 Phar Lap .... 17.1 79. 9 —- - It will be observed from the above . that Ajax has an unusually short neck.