THE Racing World.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 288, 2 December 1905, Page 11

THE Rac ing World.

- **'Wh«l>bono.''

When the last mail left England Isinglass still headed the list of successful stallions, his representatives having won £20,999. ■ Galllnule wns a close second with £20,686, while those whose stock have won over five figures were. :— Cyllernv £17,813 • 10/; Persimmon, £a 5,194; Florizel It, £11,005; St. Simon, £12,385; and St. Frusquin, £11,813. The list of winning owners, was headed by. Mr W. Hall Walker, with £22,462; and he was'followed by Mr S. Joel. £17,200; I*>rd Derby, £15,840; and W. Singer, £10,270.

Mr J. B. Joel has leased Bill of Portland to W. T. Robinson, and this very successfull son of St. Simon -will (writes the Special Commissioner of the "Sportsman") stand in future at the Foxhill Stud. Bill of Portland no longer depends solely on the great reputation which he cainrd In Australia, His EnpHsh-bred two-year-olds have done- exceedingly well for him this season, few, if any, of them being incapable of winning a race, while some, such of Bill of the Play, Peter Jackson, and Noisy Bill are smart indeed. There is a prevalent Idea that Bill/of Portland is not sure wltli hia mares, but this is a mistake. He is a horse of curious moods and fancies, and needs at times •to have a Rood deal of patience exercised in the management of him. but his foal record is a very fair one, and he will be all the better for another change of air and surroundlnjrs. Brs'des the two-year-old winners by him !d England, there is also Cinder Bill in Ireland, quite a pood colt. He is °nt of that very good little Trenton mare Cinder Ellen.

There Is some interesting information in the latest volume of the Stnd Book published by the Messrs Weatherby. It is the twentieth, and appears after a four years interval. Reviewing the publication, the "Meld" remarks that, from the usual analysis, in tabulated form, it will be observed that in 1901, 5801 mares were accounted for; in 1902, 6004; in 1903, 5768; and in 1904, 5661. Of these, no fewer than 1410 were barren in the first year, 1380. in the second, 1364 in the third, and 1272 in the fourth, and it may be added that the four years' total of foals reaches 13.155. A desirable improvement, from a convenience point of view, is the inclusion of Irish mares amongst the general body of the book, , they . having been hitherto at the end of the entries. The section.devoted to Arabs, though limited in extent, is very interesting reading, whilst under the heading of Horses sent Abroad," the bulk appear to have gone to the United States, and on the Continent Austria and' Hungary, Belgium, France, Italy, and Germany, especially the latter, figure largely. It is also'a healthy sign to see so long a list under the Cape. Natal, and South Africa, especially in mares; nor must the exportations to Australia and Xew Zealand during- the four years be overlooked, the incrense being quite marked as compared with .Vol.. XIX. This likewise applies to South America, so that there can be little doubt about the export trade in bloodstock being in a very flourishing conditlOS. ■' : . ■ • ■

The Wagga scribe ''Tim Whiffler" reports that the wfell-ijnown sire Sunrise died at the Silver Pines Stud Farm, near Jorilderie. on November 13. The old felow. was rolling wh*n he injured himself Internally, and died shortly afterwards. Sunrise, who was a full-brother to the crack New Zealander . Sextan* was a brown horse, and was foaled as far hackas 1880. He was therefore 25 years of nee. He was by Robinson. Crusoe from Sunshine, by Marlbyrnoni» from Xishtliirht (imp.), by Arehy from Rnshliglit; , by ,. Bay Mldclleton from Torch,, by tainpltehter. Sunrise was never raced, owing to meeting with an ..accident as a youngster, but he' was a wonderful success at the stnd. "nnd it may be. fairly claimed for him that his progeny have won more races than' those' of any other 6ire in the annals of the \ustralian turf. For many, seasons past ■Sunrise has occupied a prominent place in the winning siresj/ list, and the winnings of his progeny during his stud career must have aggregated close upon £60.00f> or £70.000. A remarkable feature in Sunrise's prosreny was their shapeliness, and, the old fellow produced winners from stud book mares as weM as from mares whose nncestry was shroudrd in ,-doubt. In addition to siring good winners on the flat, nuite a number of his progeny earned dls'inction over the hurdles, notable performers in the last-named connection being Rushlight 11., Blitz, Sunflower. Sunbeam, nnd Sitnshower, whilst he also sired such celebrities on the flat as Orient. Old Gold, npnbi'es. Heiress. Heritage. Sunbeam. Sunrtial, Eastern Klnir.. Meridian. Roseleaf. Moss Rose, Rosy Morn, Bny Rose Sweet Rose, Silver Rose. May Dny, : Belciorno, Snnora, Dawn, Mnrechal Nell, as well as n host of lesser lijrhts. In connection with Sunrise's stud career, it is worthy of men-, tlon that not .one of his prostenv were chestnuts.

Writing of St. Amant's resurrection as a racehorse, an English scribe is lnterestinply reminiscent of horses of whom peculiar fads are recorded: —"St. Amant's cat has, been duly, .recognised by the historians of the Jockey Club Stakes. But I hare seen no mention of the odd coincidence that tlje Chattis Hill blacksmith who, accompanied the 'saint' and his feline pet" to Newmarket was named Dick Whittington. Cats have- acted as a sedative to many' : borses before St. \Anmnt. diaries the Twelfth, the St. Leger winner of .1839, we are told, had a great affection for a prey stable rat, and if she were not waiting to welcome him on his return he manifested the most violent displeasure. When taken out to run for the Doncaster Stakes, he refused to proceed with the cat. who was fetched and put inside the muzzle that hung at the horse's saddle bow. where the latter could see it; upon which "CharIps" gave a neigh of satisfaction. Best Man was also, attached to. a feline companion, and when, after winning the Prix' dv Consell Municipal, he got back from France without her—she was lost on the way—he was quite sorrowful about it for days afterwards." The writer could .have gone further and receded an extraordinary. iustaDce of affection that existed between the Godolphin Barb—bead, of the once .great Matchein line—and a cat. It is stated in history that the Godolphin ncf.identally flattened out his faithful feline mate after which he pined away. from remorse till death claimed'him though,every effort was made to make him forget the past by pr ':tinp assorted cats in liis box. but he displayed unswerving loyalty to thr> departed one by savaging' every puss his attendant brought to him. Duusrannon, a famous racer in the last quarter'of the eirhteenth century, and subsequently a notable stallion, engendered a: strong liking for a lamb,... who occupied the same box with him till it became very tough mutton; and Birdcatcher's particular .weakness, was, appropriately', a v pigeon. 'Pretty Polly's deep-seated love for a pony friend is on a par -with that of a savage station sire I once knew named Cossack. He was a son of the great Cossack, and his weakness, , was an unfavoured and decidedly smellful he-goat. This 'horse was something of a man-eater, but as long as the goat. was around, he generally behaved himself with decorum, nnd could bp TmiidW with comparative safety; but if "William" wandered out of sight, as he often did when the grass was green outside the boundary of the stallion paddock, he wor 1 ' "'■><»' a bold man who would attempt to bridle or halter Cossack.

Says an exchange: For many years the practice of making nominations void on thedeath of the nominator has had vexatious results. Several^times a Derby favourite has been put out of the great race through' ms nominator dying, and on scores of occasions the value of horses that have' gone_ up for sale on the death of their nominator has been depreciated through •their being put out of all their valuable, engagements. St. Simon was a case in point. He could not run in any of the "classics, ,, and the Duke of Portland got him cheap In consequence. The stewards da. not propose to go the whole hog and eliminate the rule, but they propose to exempt from its operation "entries for horses sold as yearling or foals during the ■ITfp of the nominator, or such as flre made under; another's person's subscription." Commenting on this proposal the editor of the "Sportsman" says:— ; . :

"This would; of course, be a considerable relief to buyers of high claae yearllnge, who may under present circumstances find ihatf the value knocked off by their engage-

ments being rendered void; but I fail to see iwhy yearlings and foals only should bo brought within die operation' of s the \ proposal. Why not older, horses, too? Tiien, again, no relief will be.extended to the case of horses whose nominator dies, and whose entries really constituted .the principal- part of their value. It seems to mc that, a very simple way out of the-whole difficulty is to give nominators'the option of paying the entry money and other portions of the stake as • they fall due, and in that case let their ■ nominations hold' good Hi' any event.. This would be a-most reasonable solution, and is already in a measure adopted by the conditions of stud produce , stakes, according, to which if the nominator of a stallion pays up his entrance money at the time of. nominating, death ; will.jjot void that entry. It will at once be-seen that if ■a man has in his lifetime paid-all his forfeits up to the date, of his decease, the question as to..executors not being able to pay them would not arise, aad there" would remain 'no 'conceivable reason why the nominations should become void." ».:'•

The argument, in-favour of the rule has always been that «t times the executors might not be able to pay the forfeits, or would refuse to •do so.' The Jockey" Club can only collect from an unwilling- debtor through the medium of the forfeit-list Most men will pay rather than have their name appear in the black-list, but soma do not mind readers of the 'Calendar" knowing that they are in debt for forfeits. However, the proposed exemption is a step towards getting this annoying old rule done away with, and if the "Sportsman" suggestion finds favour. it should not be long before it ■ goes altogether.

Despite fashion and theory, there is some underlying control whici hfrum time to time forces certain lines of bloaft to the .front (says "Vigilant") altogether regardless of any design on the part of breeders. Distant Shore was a member of No.' 9 family, notorious for Us inability to produce good stallions. Indeed, Cylleue is' the first horse of this family to sire a Derby winner since 180S, and no classic winner at all had been sired by any snch-horse since. ISI3, when AUisidora, .by Dick Andrews, 9, won the, St.. Leger, but Distant Shore proved herself quite--independent of family' weaknesses and traditions, and her -eons St. Damien and Gulliver, have been very'successful at the stud in France, while Cyllene could not well have-done better' than he has at the very outset of his-career.' I think, perhaps, Virginia Water is the finest or the old mare's daughters, and she produced not only Whlttler, but the magnificent Lady Minting, Wo Is now at-Mr Jas. R. Keene's stud in-Kentucky. I see.lby the way, that Mr .Keene-has entered Lady MintIng's yearling colt by. Collar for the Derby of 1907, so'it-is-possible we may see him in. ihis country. His is a .rare combination of blood—St. Simon with John Davis (by Voltigeur) aad sister to Ormonde with Minting. Besides the advance of the No. 0 family through Distant Shore, there has also beea •a persistent development ofNo.'7 Tjlood, first as winners, and now as sires. kerEimnion and his brothers,' following-on Donovan, fairly set the ball-rolling, and Flying Fox and Wildflower.. lent strenuous assistance. ' It Is to be observed; too,\ that these great winners are not «:ue to any single great matron of recent date such as Distant Shore, but to three different- branches of the No. 7 family, viz., Mowerina, Ellea Middleton, and Jgu d' Esprit." ''i< lying Fox and Vvildfowler both descended from the last-named ,of those, mares, «f or -Vampire (dam of Flying Box) Is a granddaughter of arcasm, by Breadalbain out of Jen'd'Esprit. while Tragedy, the da\ii pf Wilflfowler, is a granddaughter of Jeudes Mots, by King Tom out of Jeu d'EsprU. It is a little curious that'both Flying Fox and Wildfowier should have prominent representative for the forthcoming St."Leger in -Val dCXv Jardy, and Llangibuy.. who will be opposed by Cicero,' son/of a.No. 0 sire. All the three sire's 'are yoiin'g. horses, "Flying Fox being only, nine years old, thougn he has four-year-old sons; Cyllene;and Wlldfowler are each of them ten years. There is a further resemblance In the pedigrees of Flying' Fox and Wildfowler, • that -both are strong In the Flying Dutchman blood* the one. through Flying Duchess (twice) and the other through Massinissa, while although -Wildfowler does not get the intense' In-breeUng to Blacklock which, is ..notable in Flying Fox, he combines Skirmisher (son of Voitigeur) with Sweetnieat; and' takea in anoiiier close line of precisely the same Skirmisher blood tarough his great granddam, sister to Ryshworth. Indeed, he Is inbred, as was Sirenia, his three-parts sister, to the branch, of No. 10 family which, produced Gallhmle. Thus it appears that there is a galaxy of outside blood surging to the top just now, .and it only remains for Val dOr to give No. 39 family its first classic winner to make this an anhus intrabills In racing history. ■:■■'■-■

In alluding to the modern racin? seat an English writer said: '.'To America, it must be confessed, we are indebted for many useful inventions and much desirable information—with a Very voluminous per contra! It is open to.question whe*K«r the racing seat under consideration may not be legitimately classed In the latter category, it was adopted of necessity by tne • majority of our English jockeys, and has since remained in favour. This peculiar position in the saddle was originally introduced in , the States some six or seven years ago. To the - craze for records Its inception, is, attributable..■;, and without doubt the duration of races on the flat has been reduced by the innovation. "Flvefurlong sprints are now generally achievedin from two to. four or:five; seconds less time than was the case a decade ago. But what of that? If' the forelegs. of' a young" ster could cope with five furlones in lmin esec and stand the: strain, what is the advantage to the turf or owner, or backer, or. sportsman, good, bad, or indifferent, if there be a gain of 4sec or more at the cost- of the tender" suspensory ligaments of ■. one of • Nature's- most beautiful crea-turesr-a . two T year-old f thoroughbred ? -This emanation of the confounded ingenuity of Uncle Sam, who Is riot and, it may be respectfully submitted, never was. a horseman in..the.higher sense-of tie word, hut r/ho nevertheless has a knack of setting 'right there , without superfluous circumlocution or exertion,-wwars r simply ""achieved In the effort, as suggested, to cut time; and cut time it did at all hazard. .Weight was rightly .regarded as the chief factor in the problem. The question then cropped up as to the most fitting distribution of this great factor. Not only how. it was to be carried, but how its' carriage could be turned to most advantage. ""'■' Hence some interesting experiments. It was found that a racehorse, saddled and bitted, turned the scale at, say, 10051b; A jockey was found to weigh 1301b. The horse was then placed with its forelegs only on the scale, which was level with the, ground, upon which the hind hoofs rested. The forepart of the "animal" In this position weighed approximately- 5801b—more than one-half of its whole -weight. - Next,- the pressure on the forelegs of the horse, with the jockey seated at ease in the saddle, in a normal position, proved to be '6421b. an increase of C2lb—that is, 31b less than half the . full weight of the . rider. . We now come to the crucial point of what the. horse probably thinks a diabolical system for screwing out the coveted 4sec in speed beyond'its natural capacity. Thus: the. jockey was nex>t stuck up on the ueck of the horse.. In that, position the scale turned at 7081b—that Is, there was an increase of 12Slb in the weight of the forepart of the horse,- or 661b more than when the jockey was seated in the- normal position. It would ' appear then, that riding a finish in the American style is equal to doubling the weight of the jockey so far cs regards the forequarter of his mount, and as it is becoming customary to adopt this crouching position from start to finish, the increased strain on the forehand is sustained throughout x the race and tht> ligaments are thereby frequently strained beyond all power of recuperation. The immediate effect of throwing the burthen to be carried forward is apparently to ! force the horse to take a longer awl quickler stride with. the. hind legs in order to 'get them well uuder the weight to prei eerve his balance'; heh'oe"iwe "get the" ndI vantage of our old enemy with the Jseythe ! and the hour-glass, and . cheat him of a ! few seconds. Bwt it remains to be seen I whether the system is likely to result in the ultimate improvement "of ' our noble friend-the horse, or-of;his-rldeiv or whether the one will iv time develop, the hindquarters of a kangaroo, while the other. from his too assiduous cultivation of what has been' termed the• ' monkey-on-a-stlck etyle of riding, will cejert to the ■ prehl* toric Conformation of tte «pe,' ■ c _;^