THE WINNING SIRES IN 1887.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 6979, 4 February 1888, Page 3

THE WINNING SIRES IN 1887.

[Field.]

" The winning sires for the first time are headed by Hampton, and this might have been anticipated early on in the year, seeing that Merry Hampton and R£ve dOr were both offspring of this Lord Clifden's son, and the Derby, One Thousand, and Oaks would have to be included in a total of sixty-two races, worth £31,779, This sum is considerably in excess of that of Hermit's return—fifty-one races, value £23,536 10s, but the Blankney sire next season ought again show a bolder front than ever with such as Friar's Balsam and Hazelhatch to represent him in classic contests. Springheld, with •fortyfive races, worth £20,4186 19s, succeeds Hampton and Hermit, and the Royal stnd horse's best winners have been Briar Root, Johnny Morgan, Lizard, St Helen, The Shrew, Sorrento, and Woodland; while a couple of two-year-olds, in Sea Breeze and Satiety, have been the chief contributors to the £17,886 10s, against the name of that sterling good horse, Isonomy, whose sire. Sterling, has done a little better this season, for the latter's total includes the Two Thousand Guineas won by Enterprise. Bend Or, who ran Hermit a close race last year for supremacy, has dropped down considerably, although such as Ormonde, Ossory, and Orbit figure among his successful progeny; and, excepting in a single instance, Bendigo has been the mainstay of Ben Battle's position. Robert the Devil, an old opponent of Bend Or, has showed an improvement as compared with last year, and, for the first season, the unbeaten Barcaldine has not done badly. Statistics just now are very interesting, and we may add that the racer who has won most money during the season is Reve dOr, the nine races won by this filly being worth £10,559, Friar's Balsam's unbeaten record of seven races niacins: the Derby lavourite next with a total of £8860.