BELLE OF THE ISLE!

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 76, 31 March 1945, Page 6 (Supplement)

BELLE OF THE ISLE!

Made Name For HerseSf In Sixties: Gave Turf The Famous Tempieton

Part IV. of the "Origin and Early History of the Nciv Zealand Turf," by CHARLES ELLIOTT, in Vol. 1., iV.Z. Turf Register.

DELLE OF THE ISLE, bred in 1 862 by Mr. Harris, of Canterbury, must be considered one of the best of the early division, as she was as game as a ferret, and of the best of tempers. She V»b by Malton, dam Spray. She her debut at the second Champion Race at Christchurch, and, trained by Webb and owned by Mr. Harris, carried off the prize with considerable ease and ran successfully for some time after; she ultimately broke down and' was put to Traducer, and produced that wonderfully good little horse Templeton, which at present is certainly the best of her produce. She was a great stayer, and at three years old would be very troublesome to the. best of our horses now on the Turf in a long race to shake off.

Magenta, as a three-year-old, was invincible on the Canterbury Turf, and did some good performances. He was by Malton, dainT Ada, a daughter of St. Aubyn,;frum Princess, and was bred by Mr.-Harris in 1863. I saw him ga'llpp-one" mile and a half, giving Blackboy;r4lb, in 2.47, carrying weight for age^-which at once stamped him as an animal of excellent racing form*." He was on the Turf for many years, and at all distances has proved- a- match for all comers in his turn:

Manuka was a beautiful horse, and, as far as appearance went, the beau ideal of what a racehorse should be. He was bred in Nelson in 18G5, and, as all New Zealand sportsmen on the Turf know, a son of The Peer, dam Waimea. He was a very powerful horse, of theeoloti-r-of rosewood, being shades iiThis dark brown coat with lighter streaks of brown; he was about 16 hands high, and when fit to run measured sft 9in in his girth. He made his first appearance on the Turf at Christchurch for the Cup, against Knowingly, Magenta, etc., the race being then three miles, which he won.

The following day Manuka won the Derby, and on the"last day the Christchurch Plate, two miles, with a penalty of 71b, but as his leg was hurt in shipping him for Christchurch on the Nelson wharf, he was only partly wound up on account of the accident, but- L, believe he was as good as he w,elt; could be; as I know he had had a long preparation.

Hβ was sent to Melbourne for the Cup, and was handicapped at top weight, but his leg gave way. and he did not start. He is now at the stud in Australia, and. what few of his get have appeared on the Turf have been a credit to him. To describe Peer,eSs,~a beautiful daughter of The-Peer and that elegant little mare Miss Rbwe,' is a task I am not able to BeJEfm-nrtp my satisfaction. She was-16 hands high, a chestnut colour, wJQv-several white feet, great depth;of: girth/ beautiful shoulders, exceedingly long in the arms, with the shortest cannon bone I ever remember seeing "on; any horse, good feet, good hocks, rather straight, good quarters, long thighs, but deficient in muscle between them low down, light neck, good head, but slightly deficient behind the saddle. Unique Disqualification She was sent to Australia and won the Royal Park Stakes~;-b*ut -was never fit to run there, : aSllt'ZSteas in the spring of the year-and--she suffered from climatic influe?ic'es>- She was sent back to New Zealand, and won the Christchurch Cup two years consecutively, and was again first favourite, but Mr. Redwood was afraid of Lurline and Calumny as three-year-olds, and advertised her for sale in all the papers'of note in New Zealand for £800: —— Peeress was ultimately sold to Mr. Walters for that price, who is now her owner, and she was 'disqualified from ever running -again in New Zealand (against all precedent in racing rules), because Mr. Walters scratched her for the Cup and tried to win with Yatterina. Peeress has been at the stud for two years, has produced a filly by Sledmere, and is now in foal to Traducer. Yatterina is by Yattendon, out of Kohinor, by Vanguard, bred by Messrs. Fisher, of Melbourne, and bought by Mr. She possessed an excellent constitution and the best of legs, stood about 15 hands lin, with pienty o.( length and substance; couW race with" very little preparation, and was possessed of great staying powers. She raced most successfully for many year. , ;, winning; over 50 races at ail distances and ■weights, and is now'at "the stud, having been put to Tradueer.

I look Uitn this spare *y one o. the best we have ever had on the Turf in New Zealand, but I fancy she

is not likely to be successful at the stud, as my experience in watching the various mares who have been put to the stud after a lengthened course of training is a failure, and I cannot call to remembrance a'single instance of success.

Kakapo is a bay horse by Diomedes, dam Toi-Toi, a daughter of Waimea, and by St. Aubyn (and it is worthy of remark what a success that St. Aubyn mares have been at the stud, as we have Kakapo. Korara, Magenta, Ada colt, and several others of less note from this stream by various horses), bred in Marlborough by Mr. Redwood in IS7O, and stands about 15 2, with a good deal of substance and power.

When he first made his appearance at Christchurch it was amusing to hear the various opinions formed of Kakapo by the knowing ones, some desiring Mr. Redwood (his breeder) to put him in his buggy, others saying he ought to make a good hunter, while others prognosticated that his general formation was too much like a rockinghorse to race, and, although most liked him, from the butchers to the merchants, none could fancy him for galloping.

I well remember the chaff of his breeder when he returned to scale — having just made the fastest race that had ever been done on the Christchurch course — against the knowing ones. This really good horse is another instance of the fact that if horses have only sufficient power and good breeding it is impossible to say whether or not they can gallop by looking at them, "for they go in all forms."

Kakapo was very successful all through the season, winning a great many races. He was sold after the season to a company in Wellington as a stud horse; he is now in the Wairarapa district, where he is greatly patronised. "One Of The Best" Lurline is a dark Day mare by Traducer, dam Mermaid, by King Tom, by Harkaway, bred by Mr. Nosworthy in 1809. She stands about 15 hands 3in high, has a plain, deter-mined-looking head, with a white face and nose, which is placed on to a good neck, not too heavy, but still with plenty of muscle on it, not in depth but in thickness; her shoulders are really well placed, with great depth of shoulder blade, light and wiry about the shoulder points and arms, splendid, wiry, oblique and long pasterns; her girth is good, being sft 10in when in racing condition; back and loins do not impress one as being her best points, for about the loins she shows the slackness of many of the Touchstones; her quarters are very drooping and wide, with excellent stifles, well laden with muscle both inside and out; hocks are placed low, but they are inclined to be curby, and she was dressed for curbs, but they never gave way.

Her temper was nervous, and she required to be used with great gentleness, or she would assert her rights by clearing her box, but she became, as she grew older, much more confident, and was very easy to manage. She was a very nice mare to train, as she had an excellent constitution and sound feet and legs, so that she gave no trouble in the stable with them. She at times suffered from rheumatism and became lame first on one leg and then another, but it generally passed away in a day or two.

Lnrline lias been put to the stud in Australia, and I am sorry that she did not return to New Zealand, as the loss of such a mare to a new racing country is incalculable, for by starting with the best you are the more likely to be successful in breeding. I have given all I know respecting this grand mare, and have done so because so many feel interested in her who perhaps never saw her. She certainly is entitled to the appellation of being the best mare New Zealand has bred.

Calumny, which accompanied Lurline to Australia, proved herself, both in New Zealand and there, to be only slightly inferior to her, and that arose from being not so large, so that she could not carry so much by about 71b; at that difference of weight there was not much to pick between them for any distance. Calumny is a chestnut mare by Traducer, out of Gitana, by Sir Hercules, bred by Mr. Nosworthy in 1869. She , stands about 15 hands lin high, with a beautiful head, neck, shoulders, back quarters, legs, all as beautifully moulded as they could be, with such a waist as is seldom seen.

Her temper is everything that could be desired, for nothing could ruffle it: she would go to the post and stand as quiet as one of the Lifeguardsmen's horses would on parade day, but at the word "off" there were few which could take the jump from her, and at short spins she was always thereabout at the finishing post. Such is the character of this really beautiful and excellent mare. Related To Lurline Castaway, a full brother to Lurline, is an animal very dissimilar to his illustrious sister, both in colour and shape. He possesses great size and power, has an excellent temper both in the stable and on the course, and is thoroughly honest and game. He stands fully 16 hands high, and is a chestnut with great bone. His hocks are a great disfigurement to him, as they appear to be very curby, but I believe it is not curb, but an enlargement of the bones, and this is borne out by his always remaining sound after having been submitted to a severe training. He was second to Papapa for the Derby, and won many good races; his fore legs then gave way, and he is now at the stud, and will become, I believe, a fashionable horse.

. Traitor and Defamer are sons of Traducer, from good running mares, but they did not do much on the Turf, as they quickly went wrong and have therefore been put to the stud. They are fine-looking horses, and from their constitutions not being injured by a long career of training, should be successful as sires.

Tambourini, or Old Tarn, s,s he is frequently calied, bred by Mr. Stafford in 1868, is a bay horse about 15 2, with great length, but somewhat, narrow; he is by Towton, from Opawa, a daughter of II Barbiere. This good animal has been most successful, both over timber and on the having secured most of the good things in his turn —the Christchurch Cup once.

Quite the gentleman in appearance and breeding is Papapa, by Ravensworth, dam Waimea; bred by Mr. Redwood in 1870. He is a chestnut horse with white markings, and stands about 15.2, showing much quality. He was not so successful on the Turf as he ought to have been, for the writer believes he was the fastest horse we ever had on the Turf in New Zealand. i

He had excellent legs and feet, and altogether beautifully made, without a patch of coarseness about him. He was an exceedingly pleasant horse to train, and of the best of tempers. When he made his debut on the Christchurch course to run for the Cup he was so frightened by the flags and the noise that he could hardly be got into the weighing yard at all, and, on going to the post, would not face the crowd at starting, thereby losing a great deal of ground, which, in the opinion of many, lost him the race, although Lurline was in it, but when the boy did get him away I never saw so much ground made up in the time in any race I ever remember seeing. Papapa won the Derby next day with a man on his back with great ease in good time, but bolted when ridden by a boy for the Christchurch Plate. He was sent to Auckland and won the Handicap there, beating a good field, but after- winning the race he ran amongst the scoria and injured one of his fetlock joints.