SIMILAR PEDIGREES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 83, 5 October 1938, Page 17

SIMILAR PEDIGREES

AJAX AND NUFFIELD

SUCCESS OF CHARM LINE

With Ajax scoring his ninth successive win at Flemington on Saturday and Nuffield outclassing his opposition in the A.J.C Derby at Randwick on the same day; these . two horses promise again to be the outstanding performers of their age in Australia this season. Though narrowly defeated in both Derbies last year, Ajax has amply demonstrated since that he is better class, by a shade at least, than his victors, Avenger and Hua; and Nuffield was probably a better two-year-old than the since deceased Pandava, despite his defeat at the hands of this rival in the A.J.C. Champagne Stakes at Easter. It is most interesting to note that there is a remarkable similarity in the breeding of Ajax and Nuffield, who are both sons of the leading Australian sire, Heroic, and who both descend through the same branch of the No. 2 Bruce Lowe family, the St. Simon mare Charm, a sister to the Oaks winner Amiable, being fourth dam of Ajax and fifth dam of Nuffield. BEND OK AND HAMPTON. A feature of the pedigree of these two horses is the intense inbreeding to Bend Or, principally through Cyllene, who accounts fqr three lines in each. Ajax, besides the three lines through Cyllene, has two lines through Martagon and one through Ormonde's son Goldfinch (the sire of Chelandry). Nuffield's three additional lines are one through Martagon %nd two through Ormonde, Goldfinch again supplying one and Flying Fox the other. Ajax and Nuffield are also inbred to Hampton, who' figures three times in the pedigree of Heroic. Each horse gets an additional line through his dam, Ihe former through Ayrshire and the latter through Ladas. Ajax has two strains of St. Simon to only one in Nuffield, the main source being Charm, a daughter of St. Simon. Nuffield has still further valuable blood in two lines of Carbine, which is absent from the pedigree of Ajax. . From a stayer's point of view the pedigree of Nuffield is rather more impressive than that of Ajax, because of the two lines -of Carbine, which gives the famous Musket-St Simon cross for stamina. And on their record to date Nuffield has shown himself the likelier stayer, as he has already won the first of the Derbies, a classic that iiist eluded Ajax. The scratching 01 Afax frSn the two Cups this year is also an indication that his connections believe he is a better horse under 1 2 miles than from that distance up. RELATED TO HALL MARK. M£rX>« 33822£fS 83? SK wca usV>?oipf; aH|| winkle, by Cykloh from Deneb, by The §SiP§ that of Nuffield and HajMarkwg d seen when it is noted that Ajax.it <"* Melbourne Cup wtangr Tnvig c The sub-branch of the Chaim iajnuy to S Ajax belongs came out to Australia with the importation of his dwn daivMedmenham, who was XSred. in England by Messrs, B. L. middle-distance winner from P. MusCARISSIMA BRANCH. - There is still another successful subbranch of Charm, in. Australia, that through Carissima, who was by Ladas from Charm. Carissima was. imported from" England by Mr. E. L. BaiUieu in 190? Mated with Wallace she produced Amata, who won the 1910 vjx.l,. Newmarket Handicap; and fifteen years later Carissima's grandson, Parkwood, also won the Newmarket. A] ax, through the Medmenham sub-branch, gave tne Charm line its third Newmarket winner last season. ' t, „„„««, Charm, from whom all these horses descend, was a sister-in-blood to the Ascot Gold Cup winner William the Third, both being by St. Simon from full-sisters, William the Third being from the-Wisdom— Enigma mare Gravity and Charm from Gravity's sister Tact. Wisdom, the sire of Gravity and Tact, was a son of Blinkhoolie, whose memory is further treasured in Australia because he was the sire of Powder, the dam of Arsenal, and the grandson of Alawa, and the ancestress of Artilleryman and the flying Valicare.' The Charm line through its three branches in Australia has thus had success that might without exaggeration be termed phenomenal. Though Ajax may not be a true-blue stayer in the strictest sense himself, many of the other successful representatives in the line have all been sound stayers of the highest class. As My field was able to win the Derby on Saturday so readily after an interrupted spring preparation and at his first start for the season, it must be accepted that he is as real a stayer as have been any of the line. The V.R.C. Derby now seems to be at his mercy, and following his Derby win he has probably advanced from the second line to favouritism for the Melbourne Cup. Nuffield was bred by his owner, Mr. C. B. Kellow, who gave 16,000 guineas for Heroic at the close of his racing career. Nuffield failed in his first start at two years, but then won in succession the Gwyn Nursery at Caulfield, the Maribyrnong Plate at Flemington, the Federal Stakes at Caulfield (with 9.10), and the V.R.C. Sires' Produce Stakes at Flemington. His winning sequence s was checked when Tactical and Pandava beat him in the Ascot Vale Stakes. He finished unplaced in his next start in the Fairfield Handicap at Warwick Farm, won by Pandava. He then won the A.J.C. •Sires' Produce Stakes, seven furlongs, but Pandava turned the tables on him in the A.J.C. Champagne Stakes over a furlong less. In nine starts he was five tinies first, once second, once third, and twice unplaced. With the addition of the A.J.C. Derby, he has now earned £7625 in stakes, as well as £350 in breeders' premiums for his sire.

Auto Sweep's owner, .Mr. L. Sutler, unable to win maiden or hack events with the Captain Bunsby horse, has taken the bold step of accepting him for the Mifchelson Cup, 1\ miles, at Ellerslie on Saturday. The staying breeding is there, but Auto Sweep often races as though he is an unwilling brute.

S. Wilson and P. Burgess will be riding at Hastings this week. Wilson's mounts include Dainty Sue and Baran or Serenata.