EXODUS TO AUSTRALIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20312, 20 July 1929, Page 9

EXODUS TO AUSTRALIA.

HORSES ON THE MAHENO. SOME GOOD PERFORMERS. [by TEI.ECa.irH. —OVTN" cnrURESPO.VDEXT.j WELLINGTON. Friday. Will there bo anybody left is becoming the pen era! query in racing circles, for the tide continues t.o flow decidedly toward Anstialia. There was a very pronounced atmosphere of the turf when the Maheno left for Sydney to-day with borsefi. owners, trainers, jockeys and officials on board Nightmareh and Seatown. who ran first end second in the last Great Autumn Handicap. were the outstanding horses on board Both hare done well in the interim and there is no doubt that both are on the border:ire cf weight-for-nge class. A. McAu'ey. who htts achieved a, good deal of * ?t*ccesf» with ICizhtmarch. is taking ttie three-yen r-old. together with the Arrowsmith—Then two-year-old True Shaft, who hag no public form. but has shown a good deal of speed in private. ,T. F Butler went in charge of Seatown nr.d will train him in Australia, whiie Mr. ,7 Frederic, the owner of the chestnut, tog-ether with Mrs. J. Frederic, were also on the steamer H. Telford, from Trentham. took a team of six. owned bv Mr L. G. Duncan and Captain B. H Edkin The team waa composed of the rising three-year-olds Sunkissed. Tea Queen and Dresden China., and the coming two-year-olds Hack Cake by Tea Tray—T,".ia.mai Sant.a Anna by Paper Money —Tantalise, and Open Cheque by Paper Money—Graceful. R. Reed is encased to ride these horse?, nr.le?? required for Nlghtmarch and Gay Ballerina—an unlikely clash. H Wilton was also on board with Teri ana the risinc two-year-old colt by Paper Money from Sunbird. Racing cSciala on a holiday trip were Messrs. A. P. Wilson. chief stipendiary steward, and W. P. Russell. handicapper and judge. Mr. Wilson is on leave until the middle of September, but Mr. Russell returns in a month T. Green was alao on the steamer. Eeed and Green will be absent from the Dominion for several months. G. Ridgway went across with H. V, ilton. Joy King. for sale in Sydney, was also cn tlie 6t.eamer. NOTES FEO3I ELLERSLIE. GOSSIP OF THE TRACKS. BY ARCHER. The Avondale trainer . G-oush has cone to Gisbomc with Princess Kam. wiio is ..o contest hack sprint events at the Gisbome Racing Club's Winter Meeting next week. At her Last start Princess ttain deieated several smart hack 3 in winning the President's Hack Handicap at Waverley ana a repetition of this form might make her dangerous in her coming encasements. It is probable that Block Mint will be tried at hurdles and he is stated to have I shaped very satisfactorily in h.s ,rii.ia. j schooling effort at Trentham the ether rnorn- ! .in~. Last year Black Mint performed weil S at the winter meetings, tut he has not i shown the same cash tiua year and appears |to be temporarily cut of form. If he takes ; kindly to jumping, the big feLcw should be | a likely one to make good as a hurdler. Out at I'akanir.i S. Hodge, private trainer to Mr T. Impey. has a team cf eight in | work re preparation for the coming season. His active brigade includes Sassocit Camp i'rince, Er."oy, Serangr. Professor. Imperial Prince. Principal and a rising two-year-o.d filly by Thespian from Queen cf the Earth. | Ail the horses are wintering nicely and two J ho are shaping very pleasingly are the rising three-year-olds Imperial Prince and \ Prcfe.'sor. Imperial Prince displayed promise as a two-year-old this season and may be even better in the new *eascn. ROMANCE OF A RACEHORSE. THE STALLION LUCULLUS. Un-cicr the Heading. "Romance of the l'urf," j Mr. P. Leo Faulkner, cf The Curragh.. County K-.ldare. Ireland, contributes a most interesting letter to Horse and tlound bearing on the career cf the stallion Lucul-us. who has proved a marked stud success in Auckland. Mr. Fau.kr.er w,-.25. —-'Locking down 1!'.? passage of the years there are several incidents of a clastic nature which are cited invariably when the rsmar'"* side cf racing and horse breeding" is under discussion. To them must surely be added the caso of Lncalins. who is at present the leading stailicn ia Sew Zealand, lo clear the ground, so to speak, 1 begin with the following extract from o!. "23 cf the General" Stud Book:-' Lacaiiuß. a brown horse, foaled in Germany m 1906. and imported in 1311; got by imp. Ard Patrick; his dam. Lucca, by Curabat out of Lucema. by Sir Bevys out of imp. lllnminata. by Kis'ber (sent to New Zealand).' " Laculius was imported from Germany to Calcutta by Mr. Max Gutschke. the manager cf the Deutsche Bamt. at a cost oi about £3DO. That gentleman then proceeded to sell shores in the horse to Mr. tvcland Pngh, of Calcutta, and to Mr. Heath, a Ceylon tea-planter and racing enthusiast. Lncullus was a huge, upstanding hcrse. ij-rn- brown in colour, with a capped hock, due to some injury. I'can well remember the mild sensation caused m Bengal racing circles by its arrival in Calcutta. In those j days few highly-bred horses made the j journey to the East, and was not Lucuilus , by Ard Pairick out of Lucca, a winner oi j the German Oaks, and reputed to be th#» . best mare in the land of the Kaiser? •' Laculius had not been put into training j in Germany, and m India it was quite cut j of the question to take the ' beef off him. He was as placid as a cow and was never unready to eat. One thing he woujd pot learn to do. and that was to gahop. In fact, hs wis so slow t£at it was not eTen feasible to exploit him m the amateur class.

•* Erentuxlly it w:js realised that Lucnllus ■was so utterly ceroid cf galloping ability that he could cot even be expected to win a cliarger race at the Tcllygunge gymkhana meetinir, where the first pnses were always iittje Oliver caps of the value at £'i Zs. His traiser was afraid to Jet haa travel more than two iuriongs at his iast-ert rate of progression. as it was supposed that he would break down. In these circumstances the syndicate had to be wound up. and this policy was pursued on the basis that the horse was worta is. 5tK) (i'-IoJ. '• Mr, Max Gutschke save up his interest U the failure, and, at the suggestion oi Mr. L I'. Push, Messrs. lieatii and Koiand Pugh gent' Luesiins to England. Being so well bred and cf a big. lusty type, it was thought that the horse wuulci. at least, pay his way as a country stallion. For one season he stood at the Cob-ham Stud, where he was not. visited by more than a couple cf mares. At the end cf the season tije joint owners of the sen of Ard Patrick were so Wisgusted with the lack of success that tney determined to be r:d of him at any price. In the end they exchanged him for a two-rear-old gelduig owned by Jack Anthony's father in Pembrokeshire. Away in the west ot Wales no one wanted LucuUus. 'thus the horse made h;s way to Iv'ewmarket for Hie second July sales of 131-1, when be became the property of Mr. J- O. Idayuard, a New Zealand breeder, for the mere bagatelle of 25 guineas." (Mr. Faulkner then quotes the figures bearing on Lucullusalud career in Auckland.) " Such, then, is the remarkable and romaniic story of this singularly-successful sire that would not. or could not. gallop. Born in Germany, he was a racing taitura in India, a stud failure in Engl.md and in Wales It was cot until he had been right round the world and reached New Zealand, iv great horse-breeding country, that fame came to him. Sold and resold tor a few pounds at different times, be must be accounted one of the most wonderful bargains in the history of the turf."