A SPOT OF IN-BREEDING: ALL IN GOOD FUN

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 88, 14 April 1945, Page 6 (Supplement)

A SPOT OF IN-BREEDING: ALL IN GOOD FUN

pOOD FUN, a five-year-old chestnut mare by Nightly from Cheerful Day, provided the same for her connections when she romped home in the Hobsonville Hurdles at the Avondale Meeting and paid a win dividend of double figure dimensions. She had run quite well to be fourth in the A.R.C. St. Heliers Hurdles on the previous Monday, and her promising form had been noted by many observant racegoers, who profited accordingly.

Prior to Easter, Good Fun had no form to speak of, though she did succeed in winning one race, the Wairarapa Pirinoa Stakes, a little over 12 months ago. The race she won at Ellerslie was only her second start over hurdles, and she shaped like an old hand. It was a dafehing display of clean and fast jumping, and similar form will carry her far.

Good Fun has a pedigree which is crammed full of jumping blood, but it is not that which makes it remarkable. Whether by design or accident, Mr. C. A. Cameron, who mated Good Fun's sire Nightly with her dam Cheerful Day, produced the most perfect specimen of line breeding to be found in the New Zealand or probably any other Stud Book. It is given below, with the in-breeding indicated in heavy type:—

Sire: Nightly, by Night Raid—Miss Muriel, by Lucullus —Lady Bob, by Soult—First Love by Nordenfeldt— Fishgirl by Yattendon. Dam: Cheerful Day, by Cape Horn—Cheerful by Lucullus—Lady Rose by Soult—Rose and White by Nordenfeldt—Rosarina by Traducer—Yatterina by Yattendon.

Mark the effect. Miss Muriel, the dam of Nightly, and Cheerful, the dam of Cheerful Day, though respectively tracing each to a _ different female ancestress, are practically full sisters in blood, and for all practical purposes they might be full sisters. Excepting for the intrusion of a strain of Traducer in the fourth remove in the pedigree of Cheerful Day, the male ancestors of the two mares for four generations back are identical.

It is safe to say that by the time it has been diluted through five generations of identical matings, the

alien strain of blood in each of the maternal grandams of Good Fun will have completely lost its effect. The practical effect should be the same as if the two grandsires of Good Fun, Night Raid, and Cape Horn, had been mated with sisters.

Sires of Jumpers

Such in-breeding might be extremely detrimental if there were any weakness among the sires used. The only criticism that can be levelled at it is the inbreeding to Lucullus, which is to be avoided as being likely to produce bleeding or wind infirmity. Otherwise the inbreeding is above reproach, especially'from the viewpoint of a jumper's pedigree. It is doubtful whether any horse that ever raced in New Zealand had more jumping blood in its pedigree than Good Fun.

To commence with, Night Raid has sired one winner of) tlio Grand National Steeplechase, Nocturnus, as well as Speakeasy, The Cardinal, Te Kawiti, Nightbound, and other good jumpers, and he is the maternal grandsiro of As Required. His son Nightly, sire of Good Fun, is also sire of Evans' Head, Po-huka and Bronze Night, all accomplished jumpers.

Cape Horn, sire of the dam of Good Fun, made a great reputation at this branch of the game. North Cape, Cape Lilock, Cape Race and Masterton all distinguished themselves in Australia, while Patagonia, Agog, Gold Cape, Southern Blood, Golden Glow, Great Fair and others will come readily to mind in New Zealand. Freak In-hrceding To come to the in-breeding, Lucullus was the sire of Glendowie, Prince Lu, Carinthia, Dozie Boy, Lucullent, Lucess, Dozie, Prosy Boy and countless other good hurdlers and steeplechasers. Soult was one of the most famous sires of jumpers of his day. Among his get were Sol, Kauri King, Marconi, Admiral Soult, Tragedy King and many others, while his sons, Maniapoto, Wairiki, King Soult and General Latour perpetuated the great St. Simon jumping strain. Nordenfeldt sired the Great Northern Hurdles winner Melinite, and his sons, Medallion, Stepniak, Zalinski, The Possible, and others, exemplified through their descendants the great jumping qualities of the Musket blood.

' Yattendon's influence on jumping is remote, but it can be seen throughout pedigrees both in Australia and New Zealand, while that of Traducei became famous through his sons Natator, Vanguard and others.

Good Pun's third dam, Ijady Rose, was a sister to the great Wairiki. With the extraordinary in-breeding which she possesses she might easily bccome a freak among jumpers.