AUSTRALIAN TURF ACTIVITIES

Southland Times, Issue 23612, 13 September 1938, Page 10

AUSTRALIAN TURF ACTIVITIES

Royal Chief’s Account Opened

STUD CREDENTIALS OF HUA

By

SIR MODRED

CHRISTCHURCH, September 12. Many thousands of Australian racing eyes will turn to the Rosehill meeting on Saturday as the logical dress rehearsal for the big A.J.C. spring fixture opening on October 1. Juvenile colt Limulet, who filled third berth in the Chelmsford Stakes, w.f.a. (9fur.) in Sydney on Saturday, is a full brother to Mr J. Richardson’s hofse Royal Order, a good winner of late. The Melbourne Cup and Caulfield Cup. winner of last season in The Trump is described as one of those big little horses capable of great galloping feats. He stands 15.1 in his shoes.

When Royal Order won the August Handicap (lm. 3fur.) at the Williamstown (Melbourne) meeting recently he is reported to have been heavily supported and won like a stayer. When it was cabled last week that Royal Chief had accomplished the best gallop of the morning at Randwick, trainers at Riccarton who know the pupil of F. D. Jones well at once remarked: “Now he won’t be long.” On Saturday the Chief Ruler horse won the Chelmsford Stakes, weight-for-age (9 furlongs). _ Following the marriage of L. J. Ellis on September 28 his elder brother A. E. Ellis will leave for Melbourne to pilot Floodtide in the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup. On Saturday A. E. Ellis rode Olive King in the one-mile saddle event at the New Brighton Trotting Club’s meeting but the pacing mare failed to leave the mark correctly and did not carry on. P. T. HOGAN’S TEAM It is considered at Riccarton that the true facts with regard to P. T. Hogan’s horses in Melbourne were incorrectly cabled last week. In effect it was stated that with the exception of Queen _ of Song, the other members of the string in Top Row, Netherlea, On Call and Aranui were not branded, while the necessary identification papers were not in order. Hogan is well aware of the fact that horses have to be branded before being shipped from New Zealand for racing purposes in Australia and duly pass official inspection. They have also to pass a strict investigation as to brands and descriptions before they can be accepted for registration in the Commonwealth. Under the circumstances detailed the Washdyke trainer is hardly likely to have overlooked the branding of his charges. There may have been trouble with regard to the New Zealand Racing Conference identification papers necessary, but if so the fact has yet to be made public at this end. Further details of the trouble will create interest in the Dominion and these will probably come to hand by the incoming mail. The recently retired trainer, Mr D. J. Price, for many years one of Australia’s outstanding trainers, was honoured a few days ago in Melbourne when 13 trainers called upon him and presented the former New Zealander with a chair and a gold-mounted walking stick. Included in the friendly deputation was the Invercargill-born trainer H R. Telford, better known as trainer and part owner of the mighty Phar Lap. In his younger days Mr D. J. Price was probably the best-known follower of the light harness sport in the Dominion, as he prepared and drove the famous performer Ribbonwood, while he also trained one of the greatest gallopers of all time to be recognized as the champion weight carrier and brilliant speedster Machine Gun, a descendant of Musket.

The West Australian Derby winner Footmark, who is described as a magnificent specimen of the thoroughbred, has arrived in Melbourne to test his luck at the approaching spring meetings in Victoria. He is a New Zealandbred son of Defoe (imp., and by Hurry On, sire of Hunting Song) from Bachelor’s Picture (imp.) by Gainsborough (one of England’s greatest sires) from Bachelor’s .Valley, by Bachelor’s Double. The West Aus-tralian-owned horse has 8.4 in the Caulfield Cup and 8.5 in the Melbourne Cup. In his first start in Melbourne he displayed marked galloping ability. A favoured weight-for-age prospect for the new season in the Victorian horse Avenger went under on Saturday when the four-year-old was relegated into second place in the Chelmsford Stakes (9 furlongs) in Sydney by the New Zealander Royal Chief. In due course Avenger will probably graduate as a stayer, while he is a good galloper and his defeat last week must rank as a feather in the cap of sturdy Royal Chief, the smaller horse of the pair in height, but probably not in substance. Avenger is by Pantheon (imp, and son of Tracery from a St. Simon maternal strain) from Chatterbox, by Magpie (imp. by Dark Ronald from a St. Simon mare strain) from Galtee Princess, by Bobadil (son of Bill of Portland, son of St. Simon, from She, sister to Stepniak). The pedigree of Avenger suggests that he should be a stayer of the first water and his success in the 1937 A.J.C. Derby and other extended events point in this direction. His strain of Musket blood through Stepniak’s sister will provide interest for New Zealanders. FORMER NEW ZEALANDER It will interest many adherents of the light harness and galloping pastimes in New Zealand to learn that the colt Aeolus, who recently won the Hobartville Stakes in Sydney and changed hands at 1600 guineas on Friday, was disposed of by owner-trainer P. Riddle. When a resident of the Dominion Mr Riddle was a leading participant in the trotting sport, but on returning to Australia he declared for the thoroughbreds. A cheap yearling at 150 guineas Aeolus won five races for Mr Riddle before being passed on. Claiming a number of important classic engagements the juvenile colt is well bred as a son of Baralong (imp.), a son of Galloper Light (descendant of Sundstar) from Santa Fina, by St. Frusquin, by St. Simon. Recognized in England as a good winner and stayer Baralong’s dam was Silesia, by Spearmint (son of Carbine) from Galacia, by Galopin (sire of St. Simon). The dam of Aeolus was Queen of Night, by Comedy King (imp. and a great racehorse and sire) from Yaffle, by Junior (son of Symington) from Yippingale (imp.) by William the Third from Chelandry. The new owner of Aeolus was probably influenced in his purchase by the fact that the colt is very nicely bred . for stud purposes quite apart from his galloping ability. His grand dam, Yippingale (imp.) was a half-sister to Chersonese (dam of Heroic, Australia’s premier sire for six years) and Chelys (dam of the Southland-owned mare Simper) Taking the credentials of Aeolus all round it appears to be a case of it is the blood that tells. As a well-bred son of Heroic from Gladioli (a mare of New Zealand family) it is not surprising that the young four-year-old horse Hua changed hands in Sydney at 2300 guineas on Friday when offered for sale by auction under William Inglis and Son, Ltd., as a potential sire. In addition to ranking as a first-class performer as a racehorse for Mr E. E. D. Clarke, when trained by James Scobie,

the horse includes in his lineage an unusual number of the most illustrious families in Australia and New Zealand. In public as a youngster he won the V.R.C. Sires’ Produce Stakes and gained several valuable placings. Last season as a juvenile he won the V.R.C. Derby, the Moonee Valley R.C. William Reid Stakes (6 fur), the Williamstown Racing Club C. F. Orr Stakes, the V.A.T.C. St. George Stakes (lm 1 fur) and the V.R.C. St. Leger (l-jm) proving that he could both sprint and stay. His turf winnings totalled £10,655. His sire Heroic headed the winning sires’ list for six successive seasons, while his grandsire Valais (imp.) was at the head of Australia’s sires’ list for five seasons in succession. Heroic, by the way, stands as from similar maternal lines as the defunct Southland mare Simper (imp.), the great majority of whose male and female descendants are owned by Mr W. T. Hazlett to represent the Chelandry Stud. Hua was by Heroic (the most successful of all Australianbred sires), by Valais (imp.) from Chersonese (imp.) by Cylgad (son of Cyllene) from Chelandry (dam of Chelys, dam of Simper), by Goldfinch son of Ormonde) from Illuminata, by Rosicrucian from Paraffin (a celebrated taproot mare of England. From the maternal side Hua’s dam was Gladioli, by Ethiopian (imp., and son of Dark Ronald, sire of Son-in-Law) from Earsome, by Positano (imp. and son of St. Simon) from Gladsome (a noted New Zealand and Australian turf winner), by Seaton Delaval (imp.) from Miss Gladys, by Cuirassier (brother to Trenton by Musket). The family tree of Hua will be found of engrossing interest to students of the origin and descent of very many of the world’s famous gallopers and stud successes. The son of Heroic will join the onetime New Zealand sire Beau Pere (imp.), purchased for 3300 guineas at the dispersal sale of Mr J. Donald’s Westmere Stud (Wanganui) at the recently-established stud of Mr Smith, of New South Wales. SWIMMING DANISH GIRL’S TWENTY-SIXTH WORLD’S RECORD COPENHAGEN, September 12. Miss Ragnhild Hveger made .her twenty-sixth world’s swimming record when she covered 200 metres, using the crawl stroke, in Imin 21.7 sec.