THE SYLVIA PARK STUD.

Press, Volume XLVIL, Issue 7730, 9 December 1890, Page 2

THE SYLVIA PARK STUD.

BY SP-C--.TOR.

. The Sylvia Park stud of thorou_hbred sires, mares, foals, and yearlings in tbe North is going a begging at £17000, With the deeds of the stock raised in the famous paddocks near Ofcahuhu headed by those of the mighty Carbine, fresh in the mind, this seems passing strange. The price placed upon the stud although increased -somewhat from when first placed ia the market is after all a mere bagatelle. -Let it be considered for a moment what there is to set against the : amount asked, The property consists of 470 acres freehold with of course the range of stabling and buildings, and 320 acres ' leasehold, the rental of which is £380! per annum. For the whole the Bank Of New Zeal nd would require a yearly rental of £12000, or thereabouts but It, would not be necessary to take the property oa lease unless the purchaser or purchasers desire. In regard to the stock, and first making mention of the stallions we bave Nordenfeldt. There is hardly need to dwell on the excellencies of this young horse. He is worthily filling the place of his great sire and the achievements of his two first batches of foals would ensure his bringing along figure in any sale ring. Two other Musket horses have been retained for stud duties at the Park; these are Hotchkias (a son of Petroleuse) and Fusillade, whose dam STaMti by Towton) went the way of all eshonly a few days since. Both are really fine upstanding specimens of the thoroughbred, and though each have peculiarities ot construction to which exception can be taken, they are valuable animals. The fourth stallion is the imported St. Leger, a really beautifully bred , one, being by Doncaster from Atlantis by Thormanby. St. Leger is quite of average i size, with some quality, but while Musket waa alive was not given many chances, but the result of his union with Scottish Hawke's Bay Guineas winner | St. Andrew—demonatrates beyond doubt that he can get speedy stock. Town Moor and others can be mentioned also. It has been said that the Sylvia Park mares are all very ancient and consequently of little value. It is true that some of them are now in the sere and yellow, but then again others are in their prime, while a few are quite young. Sylvia, the dam that first made the stud famous, is now in her twenty-seventh year, and may be set down with her foal at small value beyond what the foal Is likely to realise. Atalantis twenty-three, Steppe twenty-two, and L'Orient twenty-one, who each and all of them have, been, remarkably profitable mares,: cannot be expected to produce many more foals. My Idea, Nelly Moors, and Onyx are all eighteen years old, but if they were only to bear each another foal like unto their respective sons Nelson.LbChiel, axKT Nordenfeldt. at what could their worth be assessed? In the sixteen-year-old _i vision we have Mersey, f_r-wh__i, "*ifeh;_er Nor_te„feldt foal, the.splendid offer of 2Qoogs was made after Carbine's _£e&odr-t$ ijup victory.; and of like age toMersby are Pearl Ash and Tres Deuce, I have recently had to mention vHten _ea__ig;wit_ twx> very good quality filließ<**Na _&oa and Melfnite. In the ¥____-r division we have FJorence Mct_rth>;(ai# of Tiralltent), Wood Nymph atad Ma 4nd Lady Mersey" t oß * ol - 6 » Bister), and thikoi like" P*3oa vrine ' need n0 hush. Although i not like ones' mentioned, and kn*j*vn to fame, there are other really promi-tog mare. id the U3fc. Aa might be eXbe6te_r«drid-df6ldfc is _e-pOtesible for the greater _ttm_e.bl last year's crop of foals I bhti fehose from the Musket mares are ;hy. -Ogprnar* and Jdaging. Strtphon* an improving if unlucky horse, the lib- between the imported Irsshmaa and Mdsket's dau'-hesra Is likely to bring favourable 1 f-sults. The following are the __M 6-- t_% fdrty'-afe mares to be submitted,, and of this lot heasrty all have .dais at foot. Their hamss 7 app*&r ia Alphabetical order r— . _ , v '_-___l_ N " 111-a_tofHo_M Atalautis ___ap-_ra Elfiir ' Onyx H_ar-iSa Ophelia . - mrenee H-Oartty ™£^ Formo &&*¥& JVsee ' _%—f_t_— ' IS??---- -MerAtnes ____ - SWeet Cteely ; Lorebir- _*l\_» .: s ; . Titania >__ta - "■■- «_Tes Deuce ijre (late Lrrlc) , W6oanymi»a Madcap - - j

And coming ncrw to the yearlings. There &i#-i cotts, _nd feev_n iffli*-- Ol t_4 iolrtMW»_A ate by Nordealfildt, four each by St. Lejpf «nd polihu-, and twbby i_formftt.io_ fco hand regarding the youngBa %b t__ __ec6ta_t ttrey area Iruly _xitflß_. aad in _epod W__itfto_i _s the written account which Sppbarjwl. in the Melboean® from » reliable aafchorijy wfiV show:— Goingrehired %i£____.y wit_ m -&** oU mend, the iafce JGhptain Walmsley.and thought of how Carbine, w_-»vW fb_ogb6et, «s-d «» s»a -wuy to Bavtta to his -hat') ff^f?*-, 6 ?! Ihe feast asßrtwa-lB fact as faes a___t- ne .s^J^g^ lar Ih» first colt to «tt» my |

eye onjentenng the enclosure was a very even-_l_de brown.colt, which I at once I recounts-*- part broiler by Mordehfeldt. Sehai a good head, with crand wide jaws very nicely to a alightly loadedT-houldera at $te JP*g2» but I. -_ink he wWgrow out of this when he comes up in front. He has. e> «rao4 barrel and back, and is a alee ©olfe to fellow, bat. lam sorry to say, haais dig^ h inthe shape of one of his hock»*jrvhlch Jls cooked. .don't think it will aff-Ct him, however. In any way, except as an eyesore, and there is no doubt he ahow»»ny amount of liberty when galloping. " Playing with him was a great big loose bay fellow, outof Woodnyniph by JLeolinus. He has* a plainlsh-looking head, fairly good neck and shoulders, good musclar arms and thighs, and * muchah-rter back than Leolinus generally gets them with. He is a good legged one, and should mato a good colt If given timeto mature. ;. Notar from him, and walking slowly towards us, came the colt -whioh, to my mind, ia 'the pick of the basket, the show of the shop,' in the shape of the Nordenfeldt— Sister Agnes colt. As he came along I could not help noticing how truly he walked, and what A _teat 'kick*©-" he seemed to give with his hind legs. He has a kind and very determined.head, with a slight white streak down hisface, a slightly abort but musclar neck, let in perfectly, I should think, into excellent shoulders, grand back, loins, and.quarters, very deep through the heart, with well sprung ribs, and standing over a lot of ground, he looks to mc the ideal of a coming real good *un. He has, also, very long, muscular thighs and arms, and is a good legged-one: yet, with all this, he is a plainish-looking fellow, and certalnly.not nearly as taking, to a casual observ-r as tbe Nelly Moore or Steppe colts. He reminds mc very much! 6f his sire, and I may say Mr Cutts, the; manager, quite endorses my opinion in: pronouncing him a' flower.' \ Near him and very like him, indeed,' was the Erycina colt, but-rather shorter, and with a little more droop in the quartern. He 1. & bay in colour, and ou© t__fc ahooldea_»_■ _—rly to ——-_<—.. £La is rnn<-> better grown than the .. Erycinap. have previously bean at the saiae age. I cannot say I Was . enamoured with the next that came under''our notice, a bay, by Captivator dot OfMadiJfcp. He has any amount of size, and has the recommendation of getting his quarters well under hint when going*; but he is a leggy beggat, and very mean' through the heart, and, to follow, is as narrow as a rail. Nothing out of this mare has been worth feeding, so far;- but the colt of last year seems the making of a fair colt, and is by the same sire as the one under notice now. Going a little further up the paddock, we came across a liver-coloured 'Chestnut by Nordenfeldt—My Idea (Nelsons dam). This colt has improved more than any colt on the place, and promises to become quite respectable-looking*-—which I certainly did not think he ever would be three months ago. He has a game-looking head, but I do not like the nervous way he has of moving his ears ; and another defect he haa is being parrot-mouthed. He has a good neck and nice shoulders, stands over ajfair amount of ground, is light below the knee,rather small butclean-lobkinghooka, which turn in a little, and is narrow across the hips; he is, however, filling out and improving so much that I expect him to'be quite presentable by the day of the sale, as the last time I saw him he was all corners. He, somehow, too, looks like being a slippery two-year-old. "' How do you like that one ?' said my friend, pointing to a bay oolt out of Ata» lanta, by Nordenfeldt. He is not a beauty : he certainly is not a flat-catcher; and nothing out of this mare, so far, has been much good in New Zealand for racing. He has a plainißh but honest-looking head, which he carriesrather too much up in the air when standing, but it goes into the right place when he is going. He is a little bit ewe-necked, but has well-sprung ' ribs, good loins, slightly deficient over the quarters at present, long muscular thighs and arms, good knees and hocks, and has a very wiry, if rather light-looking, set of legs ; but can go in the paddock as fast as you can clap your hands. As I said before, be is not a beauty, but if, however, I had to pick two out of the lot, he would be one of them, for I think hg will grow into a really good horse, ido not care for either of the St. Leger colts out of Lady Ravens worth and Ophelia. They are both chestnuts. The former was reared on a foster mother, and is a rat; the latter comes from a bad family on the dam's side, so I think they can safely be dismissed with a passing notice. "Another chestnut, with a big white blaze down his face, proved to be the colt by Nordenfeldt, front Spinnaker. He is a fairly well grown youngster, with not the most taking head, which he carries a little in the air, rather wide between the forelegs, good knees... muscular arms, and thighs, good strong hocks, with good propelling power, and seems to be a very smart; youngster. He is a dwarf when compared with the popular fancy, the Nelly Moore colt by Nordenfeldt, who is certainly a fine youngster, well grown, and a really nice colt taken all over. He haa a solemn-looking head, with lots of deter-, mlnatlon about it, set on to a good heck; he has good shoulders, with no lumber about them, is a little loose about the loins at present, and to my mind, a little flat rlbbed,_asgoodquarters,anda_t_ud'*pair of breeches," long flat-looking thighs and arms, which, I should say, however, would measure remarkably well, and big flat knees, with a splendid set; of timbers and feet; he certainly promises to be a flue colt, and will cause a lot of heads to nod when he comes into the ring. "A very strong youngster Was hear him, and this was the Nordenfeldt—Patch colt. My friend picked him to be the best of the lot, and although he ia a very shrewd man, and an admittedly good judge, I cannot say 1 agreed with him altogether. The colt is a dark brown, has an intelligent head set on to a short neck, very strong but rather upright shoulders, immensely powerful back, loins, and quarters, rather straight hocks, which are not close enough to the ground for my fancy, and very powerful arms and thighs. He seems a promising sort, and one that should come early and go fast in spite of his one or two faults. I like the Nordenfeldt—Florence Macarthy colt immensely. He is a bay In colour, with a kind, intelligent head, is one of the long, low sort, beautifully balanced; and I can describe him no better than by; saying he is made in; proportion all over. He carries his tail In the same Eeculiar fashion Trenton, and Tirailleur aye, and if he does not become one of the verybest, I am greatly mistaken., **I like the Captiva6or i —_aaidflor Honour colt (Freedom's brother), although he la. ;_|*iß a light bay in colour, and one of the long, low sort, and very strong. • Ido not chrer "for the LeoH_u_--_app3* land, who is a chesupt i%cplo_r. nor lor the bay colt by St. Leger worn Hippoha; but I wduld not be surprised to see the St. Leger—Radiant turn .oat? 4 smart younssber, though on tbe small sida at present. If I had to pick fortr out of the: lot, I would pick the three ! Wor_e_Mdt colts but of Sister Agnes, Atalauta, Florence Mae_rfe_y,_nd the ol H6a___. colt. There are seven fillies for sale—vfci., LeqlindP — Titanla, -fordenfeldt — Spear Grass, NordenfelSti-Tres Deuce, NordenSt. Leger—Lady Mersey, Leoliaus-r-,Lyre. The beat of the lot Is the Radiance jftlly. She is a ehesnafc, with a slight white streak down her face; has a. -hort-fih, ha* very welkset-on neck ; is rather, wide between the lore legs at fheehest; in fact, I may .say _mticeably so, but handles her feet *fery well j has a grand set of legs, and showa aay amount of power and, quality all'over. The Bianca filly is _. very small neat chestnut, and differa from the Lyre flliy, wboisa.fi-ehig.o_e, and promises to grow into a really nice mare. Manton's «ister Is very shapely, and as like as' possible to the Ally Mr Gollan purchased' __«t.- liver-coloured :chestnut aad . very handsome, bat the fillies out of Tree Deuce do not seem to be any good. tThe sister to this one. Na Moa. Is a veritable flyer, as per her Welcome Stakes victory at Car-jtchurch last week.—Ed. S.S.J I do not care for. the -there, and do not think they win produce teach competition. Mr Cutt* has all of tbeyo-sgsters looking extremely well, and-I am sure on the day of the safe wfll be the- recipient of many co_gra*ah*tio_s about then-*

A number of gentlemen interested In dairy produce and the export trade la such commodities met on the Sth ult. at the refrigerating works of the Dairy Prodncs Supply Company Limited, Melbourne. They were shown by Mr W. Foster, the manager, two. refrigerating chambers charged by the HowHq dry air re_r!ge__ttng process, whereby it is claimed that all damp vapors and noxious jfcases am condensed from tbe ice and pass away In. roe _rh> By storing provisions £n mspMsles so _e_sl_srated there ia Chas, it is d-tmed, no risk of their being Sainted bj: any aroma. The company, which is newly iarmed, has extensive- premises suitable forthe produ-&ioa __d storage c_ butter and cbeesei and during the summer it is prop-sed to export the former __t_c_e in considerable quantities: ThaGovemmteat. dairy -Xpert, Mr Wilson, who was present* in approval of i&e of the ow&axj and ite objects,