N.Z. Register Of Stallions

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32385, 26 August 1970, Page 4

N.Z. Register Of Stallions

"The Press” Special Service WELLINGTON. Would you send your inare to Pakistan II if you could only get a booking? Or to Faux Tirage if he were still alive? Or to Head Hunter or High Rank if you had the price of a service ?

With these four out of reach you can still get the blood—by going to Empbastan, or to Faux Fuyant, or Head Butler, or Joe Serrett. Do not be surprised if the names do not ring a bell. They are only four of many listed in volume VII of the Register of Thoroughbred Stallions of New Zealand which are unlikely ever to emerge from obscurity.

Volume VII of the stallion register came off the presses this week—a detailed survey of most, but not all thoroughbred stallions standing at stud in New Zealand. It names 280 such horses, an extensive roll but one which is obviously incomplete because more than 300 sires were represented by runners last season.

The register is produced every four years under the sponsorship of the N.Z Thoroughbred Breeders* Association and through the exhaustive labours of one of the most competent bloodstock statisticians in Australia and New Zealand, Miss Patricia O’Brien.

Ideally a stallion register should be produced annually, should list every thoroughbred sire in equal detail down to those which cover 10 mares a season, and most important, should be regarded as a reference work rather than as an advertising medium for stallion owners. The time must come when stallion owners are not asked to pay for inclusion in the register but when every suitable horse is automatically included. When this is

coupled with yearly production of the volume it can take its place as a complete as well as authoritative reference. Many Details Short of the ideal though it may be, the 1970 register brims with''fascinating statistics. In the front section of the book are listed 131 stallions and it is from these that the following figures have been extracted. Stallions of little stature are listed briefly at the back. Of the 131, 29 are New Zealand-bred. The remainder comprise 69 bred in England, 19 in Ireland, six in France, four in America, three in Australia and one in Italy. (Among the others listed the balance swings the other way —ll7 are Nefr Zealand-bred and 32 imported.) New Zealanders are notably coy about their financial affairs, and this extends to

thoroughbred breeders. Of the 131 in the main section, 70 are listed without their service fees.

These include several syndicated horses, but most are privately owned. The reason for not listing a fee varies. Mostly it is because the book is not published often enough to record changes in fees, for most rise as a stallion becomes more successful, and vice versa. It is also a fact, however, that some studmaster may set a figure in his mind but he will sometimes accept less for multiple bookings, reciprocal bookings, or for other reasons. Uneven Spread

The geographical distribution ef stallions is in line with the lopsided spread of money through the industry. Of the 131 in the main section, 102 now stand in the North Island, these 62 are in the area which might broadly be classed Waikato, taking in Whakatane and Te Puke, but not Gisborne. Seven stand in the Auckland area, and 33 are in the lower half of the North Island

Syndication, has become steadily more fashionable since the early 19605, but the register may not give a true indication of its increase in the number of sires listed as syndicated. Twelve are so termed, but there is still a blurred line between syndicates and partnerships; and some not in the syndicate group may qualify. Certainly, joint stallion imports are more common than they were a few years ago, through simple economic necessity. The largest number of stallions at any one stud is four —at Morwenstow (Fountain head, Greek God, Orbiter, Sedgewick), Oakland (Acharacle, Palm Beach, Belmura, St Puckle), and Kempton Park (Fair’s Fair, Masthead 11, Shy Boy, Grey William. Stake earnings are given for almost every stallion which raced. The top winner was the latest record syndication, Zamazaan, with $57,663 in French currency. A rough average through the earnings of imported horses whose stakes were converted to sterling shows that 89 of them won an average $6BlO, but this does not include the two American winners, Taipan and Prince Bright. The top New Zealand-bred

winners after Syntax ($53,403) are Red Jester ($48,574), Fountainhead ($38,890), Sobig ($37,140) and Lord Sasanof ($29,890). Many Young

The ages of the 131 dispel the theory that most of our best stallions are growing old and that behind them there is a gap to young, unproved horses. Most of New Zealand's best sires are in their prime, and there is an even spread of young, wellbred sires close behind. The youngest is the Trelawney Stud's Old Soldier; a Never Say Die three-year-old which was imported by Mr S. Otway as a yearling and did not race. The oldest is Fair’s Fair, which at 27 is still siring winners. In the back of the stallion register are the top 20 sires and broodmares sires for the seasons 1965-66 to 1968-69, a list of stallions of whose deaths the Keeper of the Stud Book has been advised

since Volume XX of the Stud Book, and three seasons of fertility tables. The 131 sires are arranged under their sires, with sireline references, stallion averages from the last four national sales, and an index of the horses and mares listed with two br more generations in the pedigrees of the 131, which themselves span five generations. . The stallions of the less detailed list include a number of interesting names as well as numerous unknowns. To explain the four listed at the start of this article, Emphastan (Pakistan ll—Emphasis, by Sabaean) stands at Hinau Station, Rangiawahia, Faux Fuyant (Faux Tirage—Madam Furst) is at Te Karaka, near Gisborne, Head Butler (Head Hunter—Butcher Girl, by Beau Repaire) is at Paibia. Bay of Islands, and Joe Serrett is a son of High Rank and Serretta (by Marco Polo II) whose services may be procured at Edgecumbe