FROM STUD AND STABLE Young Winner Displays Fighting Qualities

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32314, 4 June 1970, Page 4

FROM STUD AND STABLE Young Winner Displays Fighting Qualities

Early last week Mr B. J. Halliday, of Central Otago, was announced as the winner of the $lOOO Kelliher Art Prize.

Mr Halliday met with: further success in an entirely different field last Saturday—as ownerbreeder of one of the winners on the first day! of the Dunedin Jockey: Club’s winter meeting. ,

Appropriately, the name of Mr Halliday’s winner is Centre Gallery. But those who know something of Centre Gallery’s background believe that the youngster would have also, been appropriately named if: bis name reflected fighting: qualities.

In the first few weeks of his life Centre Gallery bad two or three set-backs, the first of them being a bowel blockage witbin a few hours of bis birth. “He was a pretty sick horse, but be made it and he’s won, so God bless him,” said the Christchurch veterinary surgeon who treated the youngster yesterday.

Within a few weeks of this early setback Centre Gallery was suffering from pneumonia.

“A Fighter”

’"The way be rallied from these setbacks made me think this fellow is something of a fighter, and it seems I was right,” the Biccarton studmaster, Mr G. H. Murfitt, commented yesterday. Centre Gallery is by Ribot-: light from Central’s Pride, a Royal Chief mare belonging to the successful Lady Wayward II family.

Central’s Pride is a threequarter sister to the Invercargill Gold Cup winner, Golden Silver, and also closely related to Silver Kingdom, the winner of 11 races.

Centre Gallery is a fifthgeneration descendant of Egotism (by Demonstbenes). which bad eightwinners from 10 runners. Hauteur, another daughter of Egotism, became a famous matron as dam of the top-class stayer, Calibrate. She was also the second dam of Bon Filou, Signify, Roka, Honestly, and Lampada; and the third dam of Woambra, Honour Me, King Cobbler, and other winners.

A yearling brother to Centre Gallery was passed in at SI2OO at the national sales at Trentham in January. Central’s Pride slipped a foal to Tromba last year and is in foal again to Ribotlight: Eulogy Fan Few Australian trainers are more keen on the qualities of, the Eulogy family than A- J. 1 Lyell, of Sydney. Lyell has bought into this : family on his visits to Trentham, and one of his purchases, Spillane, showed abil-: ity in winning the AJ.C.: Stakes at Warwick Farm last: Saturday. The stakes is a three-year- ! old race in which weight to :

;be carried is is accordance with the class of race the runner has won, even to open s races, for which there is an increase of 51b for each vic■tory.

; Spillane, racing as an en- ‘ courage-class horse, had 8-6. :Bold Warrior, as an openI class winner, had 9-2, and Winged Arion, as a noviceclass horse, 8-0.

i It was a narrow win, but 1 highly meritorious for Spili lane stepped back in the stall I a moment before the start and was last to get going. _ Good Buy

J When Lyell first attended , the Trentham sales be was at- : traded by a youngster by ReI surgent from Picturesque.

i He showed none of the s bias often felt about first i foals and bought the yeari ling which, as Frame Up, won - eight races including open handicaps at Canterbury and

Warwick Farm. Lyell bought Picturesque’s next foal to be offered, and in Shakedown he found he had an even better galloper and winner.

Naturally Lyell bought the! next foal to come up, Spillane, and this son of Arra-| gon might well develop into the best of the trio, if last 1 Saturday's race is anything' like a reliable guide. Picturesque is by Karnool,

a son of Panorama, and her' dam. Royal Battle, is by Pos-: terity from Minga. Minga’s dam was the good!

racing mare, Motley, the granddaughter through Pennon of Eulogy. Motley was by Absurd and Minga was by Limond, and |it was through mares carryiing the Absurd-Limond 1 strains that have produced •winners of many of New Zealand’s and Australia’s races. I Motley won nine races, and left five winners, two of them ! Oaks winners, and two others cup winners in India and South Africa.

Minga became the dam of! Jeight winners, nearly all Of! them two-year-old winners' which trained on.

, Royal Battle was a winner, land produced five winners. .And now Picturesque has had 'three winners from her first (three foals to be tried.