Champion Failed To Reach Reserve At Yearling Sale

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27750, 30 August 1955, Page 4

Champion Failed To Reach Reserve At Yearling Sale

RACINu

No more than 300gns was offered for a brown Sun King—Capricious colt on the first day of the 1952 national sales. The vendor, Mr Ken Austin, of the Inglewood Stud, Kaiapoi, thought a good deal of the colt, on which he had a reserve of 500gns, so the colt went back to Inglewood Stud. That youngster was later to become known as the champion, Prince Cortauld, now winner of more than £44,000 for the Auckland owner, Mr M. J. Moodabe. Prince Cortauld added another notable victory to a splendid record in the Warwick Stakes in Australia on Saturday. .Mr Austin broke Prince Cortauld in and was -making plans to send him to the Randwick trainer, Frank Dalton, in 1952 when he was asked by Wright, Stephenson and Company, Ltd., whether he could recommend a two-year-old. Inquiries were being made on behalf of Mr Moodabe. Mr Austin then made a decision that gave Mr Moodabe a champion.

Mr Austin rejoices that he has bred a champion. And, further, Prince Cortauld’s many successes have gladdened him because he regards Mr Moodabe as a first-class sportsman. The day Prince Cortauld won the Champagne Stakes Mr Moodabe bought 180 bottles of the finest French champagne for officials and journalists on the course, and sent a case equally good to Mr Austin. Mr Austin thinks that Prince Cortauld’s dam. Capricious, left another colt that, with better fortune, would have been a champion. This colt .was by Defaulter, and a year older than Prince Cortauld. He was named Devious. . He showed exceptional promise for Frank Dalton, but was dogged by soreness. Mr Austin refused to have the colt fired, and brought him back to New Zealand. He raced once here, at the Grand National meeting in 1953, showed good speed to finish fifth after a slow start, but the race showed that he had wind trouble, and he was put down.

Capricious, a minor place-getter in two New Zealand Cups, was bred by Mr H. D. Greenwood. She had a bad start as a matron, losing her first two foals, one a colt, the other a filly, both by Defaulter. Then came Captious and Dissenter, neither doing anything out of the ordinary.

There was more back luck. The 1947 foal, a Neptune filly, died. Devious came next, and then Capricious took her measure of fame by foaling Prince Cortauld to Sun King in 1950. Sun King, then at Inglewood, was later sold to Australia.

Mr Moodabe purchased a halfbrother by Lucky Bag to his champion at the national sales last January for 1500gns, but this highly-regarded youngster died in Australia a few weeks ago. This year Capricious is in foal to Lucky Bag.

A Double for Trentham Glenlee ended a lean patch by winning the Bergin Handicap at Foxton on Saturday. It was her first success in 18 starts since she won the 1954 New Zealand Oaks. She went out twelfth favourite of 14, and paid £33 19s 6d, but the odds were justified. Glenlee is trained at Trentham by T. G. Stokes for Mrs D. Macpherson. Trentham also provided the winner of the second leg of the double. This was Sleipnir, which won the Robinson Handicap for the second successive year. Sleipnir, trained by T. P. Biggs for Mr J. H. Marshal!, was nearly 10 lengths from the leaders at the halfrsile, but strode to the front early in the run home and won untested. Narrow Lead

Faux Tirage topped the list of sires of two-year-olds last season with little to spare from Ruthless. Faux Tirage was also top sire in the 1953-54 season, when he had his first crop racing. Last season Faux Tirage sired six winners of 14 races, and his stock won £6957 10s, only £247 10s more than the sons and daughters of Ruthless. Faux Tirage also had at least two winners in Australia last season. One was Knave, which was given 9st 41b in the Australian Free Handicap (based for three-year-olds as at August 1, 1955, over a mile course). Only Kingster (9st 51b) was given more. Ruthless was represented by five winners of 13 races. Two of them. Avenge and Cardigan, raced with distinction and were highly rated in the New Zealand Free Handicap—based for a six-furlongs course. Avenge, now owned by the North Canterbury sportsman, Mr H. D. Greenwood, was given top weight of 9st 101 b. Cardigan was weighted at Ost 81b with Estimate, a son of Fair’s Fair. First-season sires well up on the list were Summertime (fourth), Khorassan (fifth), Gabndor (eighth). Callander (tenth), and Marco Polo II (twelfth). Summertime was also successfully represented in Australia and Japan. Figures for last season are:— Horses Sire Winners Races Placed £

Faux Tirage . 6 14 2 6.957J Ruthless . 5 13 2 6,710 Count Rendered . 6 12 zl 6.015 Summer Time . 8 13 8 5.269 Khorassan . 3 7 1 5.035 Gold Nib . 6 11 1 4.235 Fair’s Fair . 2 5 3,950 Gabador . 2 5 1 3,430 Pherozshah . 3 5 3 2.030 Callander . 5 6 2 1.755 Red. Mars . 3 3 2 1,675 Marco Polo II . 2 4 1.6581 Boise! 1 . 2 2 0 1,580 Instinct . 4 5 4 1.515 Midday Sun 1 2 1,485 Lucky Bag . 2 6 3 1,4601 Royal Arch . 2 2 1 1,440 Balloch . 3 5 3 2,030 Wedgwood . 3 3 0 1.395 White Heather . 1 2 3 1,240 Panair . 1 3 2 1.100 Dogger Bank . 3 3 2 1,035 Oman . 2 3 1 1,025