NOTES BY PHAETON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20768, 10 January 1931, Page 7

NOTES BY PHAETON.

SIRE OF KARAPOTI. GENERAL LATOUR'S CAREER. ONCE SOLD FOR 21 GUINEAS.' When Karapoli led the field home in the Great Northern Derby on New Year's Dav jny mind was carried back to a day in fh<s winter of 1910, when I witnessed his sire, General Latour, saddled for the first tiir\e. Tho late Mr. William Walters was too unwell to accompany me to the paddock at Glenora Pink, and when I returned to the homestead after tho inspection of tho youngster ho quickly plied me with the question as to my opinion of the bay son of Soult and Merry Nif. My remarks were caHt in an enthusiastic key, topped oIT with the prediction of a possible Derby ribbon coming to him. I did 4 not see tho bay colt atfain for something like six months, and my second inspection left mo wondering what could have happened to tho youngster, for he had fallen away surprisingly,. " The General" picked up a bit of condition bv the time the autumn meeting came round at Ellerslio in 1911, but, although he made a bid for victory in a Nursery Handicap, he was beaten into second place. At three years old General Latour trained ou satisfactorily, and in the spring he won the Great Northern Guineas. At the A.R.C. Summer Meeting he won the Christmas Handicap, and in the Great Northern Derby he beat all his field with the exception of Counterfeit. Under 8.8 ho ran Kakama, 7.0, to a neck for first honours in tho Easter Handicap. Matters seemed to shape promisingly for General Latour's future, but a leg trouble came against him and bis racing career terminated at three years old. General Latour was relegated to the stud in 1913. but, although he displayed a lot of the St Simon character in physiquo. lie was not in much favour, and at a sale held at Epsom on December 31. 1919, lie was allowed to go for the small num of 21 guineas. Later General Latour claimed a dual civ> winner in Te Kara, apd now with his son Karapoti, winner of the Great Northern Guineas and Great Northern Derby, standing out as the leading three-year-old of tho present season, his winning record receives a further rrarked addition. Up to date Hie progeny of General Latour have won stakes in excess of £41,000, which can be regarded as very creditable, seeing that he lias not always been advantageously placed. COMPANY OF THE GREAT. TEN REST HORSES. Some little lime before his death in 1025 the late Dr. W. H. Lang, who for many years was handicapper to the Victoria Racing Club, and who was a leading authority on racing and the thoroughbred family, penned a most interesting artirle on the great horses who have figured on the Australian turf. After referring to the doughty deeds of Carbine and Abercorn. lio closed the article as follows:—"So there now you can see for yourselves, perhaps as through a glass darkly, the performances of this pair of giants. And which will you give it to? Unhesitatingly I pronounce my verdict in favour of Carbine, And when I am at it I will give you my whole 10 in their order of merit: —Carbine 1. Abercorn and Wakeful dead-heat for second. Eurythmic and The Barb equal fourth, with Poitrel alongside. Poseidon 7. Trafalgar 8. Malua 9. and for tho wooden spoon of the mighty ten I name Wallace. But I say, gentlemen, how on earth aro you going to leave out The Australian Peer? You simply cannot do it. No—no! Kindly put him in after Poitrel, and *l«must shunt Malua and leave Wallace to fill tho tenth place. From private information I should insert Trenton, but on public form only this cannot be done. Mind you, I grudge leaving out from our great ten such names as Malua, First King, Chester. Artilleryman. Newhaven, Aurum. and Trenton. But the laws of Nature must bo obeyed, and' it is impossible to put 17 into the box designed for 10."

Since Dr. Lang passed away Gloaming, Beauford, Windbag, Spearfelt, Heroic, Manfred, Limerick, Nightmarch and Phar Lap have each been responsible for sterling performances, and the brilliancy that has marked Phar Lap's displays especially is held by many first-class judges to entitle him to the leading position of all horses who havo figured on the Australian turf.

The particular race which can be cited as placing Phar Lap very prominently in the limelight was the. A.J.C. Plate, run over two miles and a-ciuartev at weiglit-for-age, and which race he won at the end qf his three-year-old career. The exports who timed Phar Lap over tho various stages of the A.J.C. Plate gave tho same as follows:—First half-mile 495, first seven furlongs 1.24, nine furlongs 1.51, mile and a-quarter 2.41, mile and a-half 2.281, mile and five furlongs 2.405, mile arid threequarters 2.54, two miles 3.20}, two miles and a-quarter 3.491. On all hands Phar Lap's performance in this race was termed a wonderful galloping feat. and. unless the New Zealand gelding excels it himself, it may stand for a long stretch of years as the great record of the Australian turf,

ENGLISH-BRED YEARLINGS.

FALLING OFF IN PRICES,

The pronounced shrinkage in 1 lie prices paid for yearlings at the sales in England during last year furnished material for much writing. That there would he a fulling off was generally anticipated, but it was never thought that it would be so marked. The Doncaater sales have for several years topped the list, hut compared with the total of 19:29, 288,705 guineas, there was a shrinkage of 101,951 guineas in 19,10. The Sledmere Stud, which has had a wonderful record over a long period of yearn, sent up a collection of 14 ut Doncuster, and they were quitted for the small amount of 9125 guineas, which indicates in pointed form tho decrease in prices. The Slednicro Stud has frequently been cited as the most successful concern engaged in the breeding of bloodstock in any quarter of the globe. A reference to the bloodstock sales shows thut from 1919 to 19H0 the Sledmero Stud sent up 202 yearlings and the sum r#alised amounted to 100,855 guineas. The greatest year for the Slednicro Stud was 1919, when the 10 yearlings submitted on its account were sold for 01,300 guineas. KARAPOTI AND CYLINDER. LUCK IN BREEDING.

The luck of breeding racehorses is well illustrated in tlic case of Karapoti and Cylinder. The first-named was got by a sire standing at 10 guineas from o. marc bought for 1G guineas, Cylinder was got by a sire standing at 100 guineas, and when his dam, Cyniene, with her colt foal at foot, was sold at the dispersal Bale of the Kinloch Stud in 1018 tho sum inyolved in,the purchfiso was 2250 guineas. In the decision of Die Great Northern Guineas, run in tho spring, Karupofi defeated Cylinder, and, having administered a second defeat m the Great Northern Derby, he must bo accounted to hold the leading place iimoiig New Zealand three-year-olds of the present season.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

" Interested," To Akau.—Sergeant Murphy won tho Grand National Steeplcchaso at Aintreo in 192 J. No liorse has won the race throe times. "Subscriber, Ngongotaha.—Chromadyno a best time for six furlongs is lm I,'! 3-ss. recorded when ho won the Maunganui Handicap at tho Bay of Plenty, meeting on March 22 last.