ENGLISH RACING

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24741, 5 December 1945, Page 4

ENGLISH RACING

SCIENCE OF BREEDING LONDON, November 18. The subject of artificial insemination cropped up in the House of Commons, writes a special correspondent of the “Observer,” London, but there is no thought of including the thoroughbred in the research which is to take place. It has certainly received some attention in America, but so far as I know there have been no experiments. One has always to keep an open mind where progress is concerned, but I am sure thoroughbred breeders will fight against the introduction of this new idea.

■ It is the custom for recognised stallions to be mated with 40 mares each year, but under a scheme of artificial Insemination the number could be Increased almost Indefinitely. Stallion owners are too jealous of the reputation of high-class stock to permit anything like that. There Is no saying where it would end, and I am sure nothing will ever be contemplated that would lower the standard the British thoroughbred has reached after many years of research and experiment. A Deep Study „ One cannot altogether agree with Mr R. T. Paget, the Socialist member for Northampton, that the breeding of racehorses is the biggest gamble in the world. Nor is it true to say that the thoroughbred breeder has not the faintest idea of what he is breeding. All the big owner-breeders owe their success not to luck or haphazard methods, but to applying the science of mating certain lines of blood. This has only been accomplished after much thought and experiment with the racecourse as the foundation. One has only to look at the list of winning breeders year after year to realise their consistent success is due to something more than luck.

They have bred or bought mares of the right type and have put them to suitable stallions. Tile business of selection is retained or changed in accordance with what happens on the racecourse, and every year the greatest care is taken to see that suitable mates are chosen for the mares. All stud masters do not think alike, but taken by and large there can be little wrong with a system which is consistently successful. Notable Stallions

To suggest that Lord Derby’s success can be attributed to the fact that he has concentrated on breeding to a single line is not only preposterous, but Impossible. The average stud contains mares from different families and they would not all be suitable for mating to one male line. One has only to take Lord Derby’s most notable stallions, Hyperion and Fairway, to prove the fallacy of Mr Paget’s assertion. The only name common to both in the first two generations is Chaucer and there is no Phalaris blood in the pedigree of Hyperion.

The Phalaris line has undoubtedly had a long and successful run, but Hyperion is well on the way to eclipsing the record of his illustrious stud companion. That Is taking them as Individuals. How they will compare in carrying on the respective lines remains to be seen. It is too early to judge Hyperion, but Fairway is already represented by such successful sons as Fair Trial and Blue Peter, and Nearco Is a member of the same paternal family. Hyperion easily topped the list of winning sires in 1945, and we shall probably find when the Free Handicap is published that five of his sons are regarded as the leading members of their age and sex.

It Is satisfactory to note that racing is at last receiving official recognition from the Government, and that presages the hope that it may not be long before all racecourses are released from war service. We are already promised a return of the Derby to its regular home at Epsom in 194 G. The Grand National will be run over the Alntree course, and by the time the fixture list can be prepared many other courses should be available. That will enable the stewards of the Jockey Club to arrange a more comprehensive programme than has been, possible since 1939.