A BIG HORSE DEAL.

Otago Witness, Volume 23, Issue 2684, 23 August 1905, Page 50

A BIG HORSE DEAL.

Last week tha Japanese buyers shipped 60 stallions from Sydney to Japan, and (says "Milroy," in the Sydney Referee) it is understood that ilia boat -will pick up 40 more at Brisbane. For reasons of their own the agents and! buyers are very reticent concerning the identity of these stallions, and unless the vendors supply particulars to Mr TuiUe it is improbable that a record of the export will be embodied in the Stud Book. I saw between 20 and 30 of the stallions mentioned about Randwick during the week. Many were in rough condition, just out cf the station paddocks, in fact;, but I incline to. the opinion that

their expatriation will not be a serious less to Australia. Of course, there were several very suitable hor-os for getting remounts from, notably Mutandum, Oatley, and Cato, as well as a few others who^e names were not available. To mate with these stallions the Japanese have already purchased about 2000 select mares, some of whom are already on the water, and others arc awaking shipment Tbe Japanese also shipped 60 superior hacks from this port, and I hear some i.horoughbrod mares are to go East to supplement those purchased here last year. The country's strength will not be in any way affected by the loss of 100 stallions, or thrice that number. It would be to our advantage if some foreign country saw fit to buy up a couple of hundred more, and thereby so enhance prices in order to encourage breeders to keep all tbe big--boned colts entire, instead of cutting them to satisfy the fancies of racing men. Big, rough, gross, strong weaners are too often condemned to be added to the list so as to fine them down and lighten the flesh, in order .to catch the eye of bread-and-butter racing men. Geldings, of course, la c .t longer in training than stallions, and the latter, when big-bodied and gross-fleshed, seldom stand the delving necessa-ry to keep them in racing condition fnr any length of time ; therefore tbe knife is used to improve upon Nature. When the V.R.C. instituted a special race for geldings about 20 years ago an authority a.pplauded the club's action to the skies, and anticipated that if such races became popular they would lead to an improvement in the breed of horses. How geldings were going to improve the breed was not, of course, entered upon by the above-mentioned authority, but the craze for the knife scfc in pretty general about the time mentioned, and in subsequent seasons such fine shapes as Paris, Bungebah, Crcmorne, Rudolph, Vanitas, Sinecure, Titan. Carlist, Pilot Boy, Cabin Boy, Highborn, and Sadur underwent the operation, while later on camo Paul Pry» The Grafter, Vocalist, Hoop Iron, Blue Metal, Bob Ray, Merloofas, Johansen, Aquarius, Marmont, and The Watch Dog 1 . Any of the above-named were the righfc shape to get saddle horses, and a majority of them certainly stood right over the average station sire, but all the value of descent, so far as perpetuation of the species goes, was sacrificed for the sake of a mere turf career. Mr Frank Reynolds seldom or never uses the knife ou a thoroughbred, because he rightly argues that no one can guess how a. oo!t will prow up. The ugliest duckling may build up into the finest drake, and as his horses are of the pureafc lineage, bred for racing and breeding purposes, he cannot see any good in the knife as an improver, at least not until the horse is a furnished four-year-old. At three and four years old a thoroughbred is practically fully developed, and if unfitted by conformation or hereditary weakness to properly fulfil the duties of a stallion, either in respect to siring Taoehorses ov hacks, the knife should bo requisitioned ; but to geld a. yearling because h« is not as "pretty" as his breeding warranted his owner to expect is too often- a pure waste of good material. "Breeders^ however, are not always in fault in this respect. Numbers o£ promising yearlings are hieing continually sacrificed in order to save the trainer trouble and to "harden" them for a lengthy turf career. Among the geldings racing about Sydney last season, where could one happen upon better sorts (if they were stallions) for getting saddle horses than Rudyard, Regio, Bowra, Olynthus, Chere Amie, Zenda, Nothos, Withan, Ossian, Granby, Long Tom. Grand Rapids, and Lucknow ?