HIGH-PRICED YEARLINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5496, 28 June 1879, Page 6

HIGH-PRICED YEARLINGS.

A warning voice is raised by the London I Field against high-priced yearlings. It 'contends that they are unprofitable invest- ; menta. In England, in 1876, twenty-one ■ yearlings were knocked down for 152,750 1 dols, which, in the two subsequent years, won races amounting in value to 90,000 doli lars. The loss sustained by the purchasers, i leaving out of consideration interest on money i and the expenses of training, was 62,750. r In 1877, twenty-one yearlings were knocked i down for 150,000 dollars, and the two year--5 old races won by them in 1878 were worth l about 15,000 dollars. Only one of the - twenty-one costly youngsters—Mr. Swin- > dell's Cadogah—is big with promise. The 1 others rank as common-place. The former 1 favourite for the coming Derby, Peter, was ■ purchased as a yearling for 1750 dollars, and • the third favourite, Falmouth, was bought at the same age for 500 dollars. The general • average of the gilded twenty-one, it will be " remembered, was a trifle over 7000 dollars I each. Since, and inclusive of the year 1831, I the Derby has been won nineteen times by ■ purchased yearlings, once by a purchased • two-year-old, and twenty-eight times by ; yearlings bred by the gentlemen who owned s them when they started for t'ne blue riband i of the course at Epsom. Of the purchased i yearlings, Flying Dutchman, Hermit and ' Set ton sold for 5000 dollars each', Surplice i was included in a lot of horses sold by tord I George Bentinck*, Lord Lyon was rented , from his breeder, and Voltigeur was knocked ' down as a two-year-old for 5000 dollars. Of I the remaining fourteen purchased yearlings, > not one, excepting Galopia and Doncaster, : cost as much as 2000 dollars. Little i : Wonder sold for 325 dollars, and Andovcr : for 500 dollars. Musjid brought for his breeder 1000 dollars, and Macaroni 650 1 dollars. The Field gives a few typical 1 instances of some famous race-horses being bought as a foal, or a yearling for a few sovereigns heedlessly chucked away : —"ln ! the Autumn of 1842, a miserably puny 1 brown foal, lately weaned from its dam, was led into the ring at Barnby Moor, upon the ■ death of its breeder, Mr. Claik, by whom that ancient pqst/ng-house and hotel on the . old North Ko'ad had long been kent. A 1 ripple of laughter ran ronnd the yard when ; the poor little mite was knocked down to the , late Mr. Wadlow, of Shifnal, in Shropshire; ; but 'he laughs loudest who laughs last,' and ■ Mr. Wadlow had no cause to regret his ;i purchase whan Swe'etment "was the best three-year-old in England, with 4000 heas'offered for him in vain by' Lord George ; Bentinck." Olermoht, with whom William Treen won the and Metropolitan Handicaps iji 1547, was purchased for a song. "In. tte,Houghton Meeting of - J845 tbree or fdur jjragglo-tailed wretches of . yearltnge were ledone rainy morning into Mr. at Newmarket, and ;' attracted hardly t any notice from the few ' surrounding spectators. Among this. neglected group bf !( animal3 was numbered a; pelt, with badlytwisted ankles, foj which, almost .without '' Sir William Gregory give fifteep guineas. This bolt ran but'once da bnt, though ;' 'deficient in speed, he jfjjs found to halve the ,' stout' Emilias blood in bis andhad he been so fortunate as to fiiid a dry spring,' ■ Clermont would probably have won four i great handicaps. The list of. cheap and. re-

mundrative purchases might be indefinitely extended, commencing with Octavian, the winner of the St. Leger, who wa3 purchased for a ' tenner' by the DaEe of Leeds when the little animal was a foal and following hia mother as ehe worked in the plough, and ending with the dam of Frauleim and Petrarch, who was bought by Mr. Gosden for a 'pony.'" The Field does not believe in _ a man losing his head in the auction ring neither do we. But as breeding as well as racing 19 so much of a lottery, it is difficult to. restrain those who are figuring for the big prizes The success of one man has more influence upon the mass than the failure of fifty men. The majority cherish the hope of grasping fortune as he aa done. The American yearlings do not command the great prices they do in England, for the reason that no such valuable engagements can here be made for them. But as the turf is growing in age and strength, the time is not distant when large sums will be paid for what are regarded as the star youngsters. The road is uncertain ; Btill fortune often favours those who combine judgment with pluck. Harry Bassett sold aa a yearling for 315 dollars and he was such a magnificent success that his younger brother was run up to 4700 dollars in the annual sale at Woodburn ; and when we Btate that brother to Basset won 9000 in hia three-year-old form, the reader will agree with us that the'investment was a good one. In 1808, Mr. Sanford paid 2000 dollars for Preakness, then a yearling, and he won with him the Dinner Party Stake at Baltimore, value 19,000 dollars." He also won a great many brilliant race 3 with him, finally sending him to England, and selling him for a good price. The experience of Mr. Sanford with the brother of Asteroid, for whom he paid 7000 dollars and the brother of Novrfolk, who cost him 5000 dollars was not so pleasant. Both of these high-priced yearlings were failures on the turf. Uneas, brother of Wanderer, w»3 purchased aa a yearling for 3100 dollars, and he won 4350 dollars before Mr. Lorillard sent him to England. The mention of the Duke of Magenta's triumphs is enough to make some men wild. He sold as a yearling for 1730 dollars, won 10.000 dollars as a two-year.old, and 36,550 dollars as a three-year-old. He was a prize of the first water. For Spartan, as a yearling, 4000 dollars'was paid, and he won 2000 dollars' as a two-year-old, and 6900 dollars as a three-year-old. We could multiply examples, but do not deem it necessary. The facts, in our opinion, warrant men in paying big prices for yearlings when they are guided by nri tical knowledge rather than by impulse. Now and then a Harry Baasett may bo picked up for a trifle, but in the long run fortune will smile upon the man who attends the annual sales of yearling with money in his pocket, pluck in his heart and judgment in his brain.— The Turf, Field, and Farm. Old Tukfite. SALE OF RACING STOCK. Amongst other sales at the Hay market yesterday, were Mr. S. 0. Caultou's stud, which were put up separately, without reserve. The first offered was the bay mare Belinda, by Day and Martin, out of a Figaro mare, 8 years old. She was bred by Mr. Watt, and broken into single and double harness. The bidding started at £5, and she was bought by Mr. Martin for £7. The next pnt up was Black Bess, a wellproportioned filly, rising 4 years old, by Daintv Ariel, out of Blossom, a mare imported from Tasmania. She was started at £10, and bought by Mr. Paul at £14 ss. Nimble, a chesnut maro, by Herald (imp.), out of Bonnie, .by Telegraph (imp.), and in foal to Parthenopceus, waa started at £G, and bought by Mr. Blair at £12. Lena, a grey mare without pedigree, but in foal tc ParthenopceU3, was started at £5, and bonght by Mr. Mullally at £7 ss. Harry Moanfc, br g, by Ravensworfch, rising 7 years, a well-known hunter and steeplechaser, was started at £30, and bought by Mr. T. Barnett at £32. Gillie Callum, br h, rising 7 years, by The Barb, out of Rubina, was next offered. It was some time before a bid was elicited, but at length he was started at £50, at which price he was bought by Mr. W. Percival, there being no second bid. Tregeagle 11., br h, rising 7 years, by Trc&eagle, out of Mignonette, was started at £20, and bought by Mr. Percival for £30. This concluded the Bale of Mr. Caulton's stock. Butcher Boy, ch g, a woll-known steeplechase horse, was then offered. Hβ was started at £15, and bought by Mr. J. Smith at £22. The Count, a creamy gelding, well known as a hurdle racer, especially in the YVaikato district, was started at £12, but was withdrawn at £15 10s, the highest bid offered.