BEGINNERS’ LUCK

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19480, 12 November 1937, Page 8

BEGINNERS’ LUCK

ROYAL CHIEF’S SUCCESS BOUGHT AS YEARLING FOR 160GNS Beginner's luck in racing is strikingly illustrated by the success of Royal Chief, winner of the New Zealand Derby Stakes at the C.J.C. meeting. He is owned by Mr. A. K. Firth, a retired English merchant, who settled at Christchurch a few years ago. Mr. Firth expressed a desire to own a horse or two and asked Mr. D. W. J. Gould to select likely yearlings at the 1935 January sales, at the same time stating that he intended to set aside a certain sum for carrying on the ownership and sufficient to give racing a trial for five years. If at the end of that period his venture did not show a satisfactory position he would review the matter. Mr. Gould carried out his commission by buying two yearlings for Mr. Firth, one Royal Chief, by Chief Ruler from the English mare Modiste 11, lor IGOgns, and the other Elegy by Posterity from Damaris, for 300gns. Tiie former was soon to do good service for his new owner, but Elegy has yet to win a race, though she has not yet been seriously tried out. As a two-year-old, Royal Chief collected in stakes £2290 and this season to date he has won £2005, making a total of £4295 in a little over 12 months, a striking return for an outlay of IGOgns. Mr. Firth thus has every reason to be pleased with his first experience as an owner. He does not often go away from Christchurch and did not make the trip to tiie North Island to see his colt race. He was not eager to travel to Australia for the spring racing, and as a result Royal Chief was taken out of the Australian Derby and other engagements. Modiste II was imported by Mr. J. Donald for the Westmere stud and Royal Chief was her first living progeny. She was sold at the Westmere dispersal sale last January for GOOgns. She had a well-grown brown colt by Beau Pere at foot and was in foal to Phaleron Bay, and she is now at Messrs. Thompson and Basche’s stud in New South Wales. No doubt the Beau Pere colt will be submitted for sale at the Sydney Easter sales and much interest will be attached to his appearance in the ring. Mr. Firth, through a commissioner, was a bidder for the mare up to 500gns, but even if lie had gone on the Australian buyers would not have been outbid.