STUD NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18297, 13 January 1923, Page 12

STUD NOTES.

IN COLOttR GREY. BX 3PHABTON. The importation to England of the French bred sire Eoi Kerode who begat the spotted (grey) wonder The Tetrarch, who is also at ; the etud in the old country, hag brought the I crey colour into soma prominence of recent years. In the couree of * recent article, the Melbourne Argus remarked:—" It is a singular fact that few of the really great horses 1 in racinar history have been grey in colour. ! A stylish-looking grey horse can always be 1 relied upon to appeal to th© imagination of the crowd, but in Australia, at any rate they ; hare been remarkably few of recent yeais. j Even in England grey horses have never I been numerous, but they &t& steadily increasing in number einoe the grey Roi Herode was imported from Fiance a few years ago. Some of the sons and grandsons of Eoi Herode have been brought to Australia during the past few seasons, so we nay anticipate seeing many grey horses on our racecourses a little later on. One of the most celebrated grey horses in turf history is the wonderful- pony Girncraek. who was bred in England in 1780. He was the idol of tho crowds at York in his racing days. H« won innumerable races in the daya when they were run in heats. He was a wonderfully gamo little ham, and his memory is kept green by the Gimerack Club and tho Gimera-&k Stakes, » race run. each year at the York meeting. The owner of the winner of the Gimerack Stakes is the principal guest at the annual dinner giwn by the Gimerack Club, and the speeches at that ; function usually have an important, bearing on turf legislation in England. The English Derby was first run in 1780, but the race has fallen to only two greys, and there was an interval of 91 years between the two victories'. The "shabby little grey " GueUvus, won in 1821, and it was toot until 11/13 that another groy scored. That was Tagaho. Three efey sires imported into the Commonwealth of Australia ,of recent years are Menin (by Roi Herode), Chrysolaus by Eoi Herode). and Sarchedofl (by The Tetrarch), and a« they are all in first-class studs it is safe to assume that there will be a great increase in the number of grey horses racing in Australia during the next four or five years.

THE MIGHTY TOUCHSTONE. It is not uncommon for swells and stayers to rise from the gutter, provided that the blood royal funs through tbpir veins, and their constitution with which they were born is sound. Touchstone is a very wellknown case in point (remarks " Tevlotdale"). When ha was dropped—the first produce of his dam— Marquis of westminster declined to have anything to do with him at first. He endeavoured to give the little rat away, bat none of his friends appreciated the gift. The kennels were too far away, otherwise Touchstone would have provided ft rich, rare, and a dainty morsel for the Tarporley hounds. So he was spared, and had not the hand of Providence thus intervened, we should have been without either Musket or Hampton.

•' INCOME'S BREEDING-. Since Income displayed such sterling form light has been sought as to the breeding of hiu dam Pommery. whose name is missing from the Stud Book. A Canterbury confrere has unearthed the fact from the pages of the Tuff Register that A mare raced in Taranaki under the name of Pommery was returned as bv Johnny Paa from a mare by Ascot. Johnny Faa. was got by Trefoil (a son of King of Club's); and Ascot was a descendant of the Weatherbit horse Kelpie. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS. Mr. Ewen Alison. jun. ; has made an addition to his stud in the shape of the three-year-old filly The Linnet (by Kilbr6ney —Grey Linnet), who was mated last season with the Lemberg horse Don Quo*. There is a great deal to admire in the pedigree of The Linnet, and especially is this the case on the dam's aide, for Grey Linnet was got by Thrush (grandson of Orme), from a mare by the triple crown hero Diamond Jubilee, and two noted names, Springfield and Hermit, follow in close order in the pedigree. | Mr. J. B. Reid expects to leave for Lon- ' don about the end of the present month. As i stated some time back, Mr. Reid has bought an estate in the Old Country, where he. intends breeding bloodstock on a limited scale. It in understood to be Mr. Reid's intention to have several of the mares he owns at Elderslie transported to the Old Country. If. that procedure in decided on, much interest will be centred in the venture, for the experiment of sending mares from the southern to the northern hemisphere has not been productive of encouragement to pursue like - operations. Advioes to hand credit Australians with operating somewhat extensively in the Eng« lish blood stock market of late. The West Australian sportsman, Mr. A., E. Coekram, is credited alone with bringing a shipment of 20, and Mr. C. H. Brien, one of the owners of the Kingsfield Stud, in New South Wales, bought half-a-dozen mares of high lineage, and the animals acquired are now on the voyage to Australia. Rock Flint (by Rock Sand), who is strongly represented in the collection of yearlings imported recently to Auckland by Dr. W. C. Ring, had 13 winners in England last season, and the captures made in stakes by them amounted to £10,801. Carbine's name was kept green in England during last season, by .reason of the' successes which attended the descendants of his son Spearmint, who accounted for over £29,000. Twenty-four horses bred at the National Stud won ,?9 races last year in the Old Country, which represented stake money to I the extent of £30,978.