A GREAT HURDLER

Otago Witness, Issue 2413, 31 May 1900, Page 35

A GREAT HURDLER

St. Simon was being schooled at Napier Park when he took off too far away, caught the top bar with his feet, and landed on his head, dislocation of the neck resulting. "Phaeton" has a readable history of this horse's career, from which I cut some slices. If T mistake not, writes my friend, it was in 1595. at th& time when St. Simon was three years old, that Mr Skipwith mirchased the bi^ bay. Hs went through the whole of his three-year-old career without once scoring, and his opening essay at four years old was none too promising, for in a maid-en hurdle race run at Avonctale he disgraced himself by refusing, and walked in with the crowd. At the Auckland Spring meeting, held some' few weeks subsequently, however, he won both hurdlo races, and the substantial dividends of £18 15s and £26 15s were attached to his wins on that occasion. In the summer he won" the Hurdle Race under 11.12, and on the strength of that performance he was sent out favourite for the Auckland Steeplechase, in which he was held ,to be thrown in with 10.0. The presumed " good thing," however, was badly shattered, for St. Simon had to strike hi* colours to both Levanter and ITingswood. In the autumn St. Simon scored in the Hurdle Race under 12. 4-, but he did not take on. Iho Steeplechase. In tho following month a; Takapuna he did a couple of wretched performance?. In. the AFaiden. Steeplechase Vo flopped into the water Uie first ti .. c round. Tn tho following month, however, the son of .St.

Leger was destined to earn for himself a place amongst the best hurdle racers that ever figured on the New Zealijnd turf, for under the. great burden of 12.12, he won the Grand National through" slush and mud. Tiiose •who were privileged to bo at Ellevslie on the n'f ternoon that St. Simon scored his memorable victory will remember wiihTwhal a run the big- fellow came on the scene at the distance, and how again and again he answered the .vigorous calls o£ Sam Fergus. It -was undoubtedly a sterling performance for which St. Simon was responsible that afternoon, and at so impressed the onlookers thai, even 'though his displays over country had been so t'isappointing, his admirers for the Great Northern Steeplechase were in such foica that they (actually sent him out favourite for the big event of the-winter. I remember going down to see the big fellow saddled up prior to the start ji'or that race, and hi 3 kinglike appearance, f'X must confess, fairly v>"on me over. I never 'saw St. Simon look as he did tha*- afternoon. ,Thej- had not, however, negotiated many fences of the course before I quite recognised 'that St. Simon was to have another failure a'egistered against him. and the slovenly, half•liearted manner m which he took the stone .wall tRe first time round showed unmistakably that he was not relishing his task. Some few months later St. Simon met with a mishap, and Mr Skip with found it necessary to throw him out of training, and he had not figured as a starter for a long time past. There can be ,:no' doubt that St. Simon was a very high-class 'Diorse over hurdles, but he was a conspicuous failure over country. He was no trickster, liowever, and had a leg ailment not coma against him, I fancy he would have redeemed iiis : character in the latter department, for his failures seemed to me to be more due to a lack ol confidence than anything else. I doubt ri the New Zealand turf ever claimed a grander looking hurdle-racer than St. Simon. ELe wai a horse of most commanding physique, and though coming from a mare about whose pedigree a doubt exists, there was nc evidence oi coarseness about him.