SIRES OF THE SEASON.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume III, Issue 106, 4 August 1892, Page 3

SIRES OF THE SEASON.

(By

Sir Launcelot.)

No. I.—Messrs. R. & R. Duder’s br h

Brigadier. The commencement of a new racing season, as well as the fact that on Monday last, August Ist, every Colonial-bred racehorse was a year older, brings upon the scene owners of stallions who have announcements to make as to the location of the stallions they own. First to come under review from my pen in this connection is Brigadier, the property of the popular North Shore sportsmen, Messrs. Duder Bros. The sons of Musket located in New Zealand are none too numerous, but Brigadier is one of them, and undoubtedly as a racehorse he was in the first flight with the best of them up to the time he went wrong. His two-year-old career was something particularly brilliant. He did not, however, score at the first time of asking, for he was unplaced in the Great Northern Foal Stakes, won by Mitrailleuse’s sister Ricochet. At the Auckland Racing Club’s Autumn Meeting he came out in very strong form, for he put down Howitzer, Reproach, Ricochet, Tamora and Lady Norah in the Mares’ Produce Stakes; followed that up by beating the speedy Mitrailleuse, Derringer, Tetford and Reproach in the Flying Stakes w.f.a., and, to cap all, carried 51b penalty, bringing his weight up to 9.1, home triumphantly in the Ellerslie Plate, beating Tamora, Antelope, and three others. He was -well backed by his owners the following season for the Hawke’s Bay Guineas, Canterbury Derby, and New Zealand Cup, and would undoubtedly have run a great horse in all three events, but when taken down to Napier to contest the Guineas (which Foi-ester won) he went wrong after one of his finishing gallops and was never again seen on a racecourse. Brigadier has not so far at the stud had anything like the chances with well-bred mares that his brilliancy as a racehorse merited, but, nevertheless, all his stock can gallop, and, what is more, they seem to come to hand early like he did himself. During the past season four of his stock won £902 10s. between them, which is not a bad record for a young stallion who, as I have said, has only been afforded limited opportunities among thoroughbred mares. But Brigand (winner of the Auckland Guineas), Brigade, Lady Belle and His Worship, are good enough credentials for any young stallion, and if all the sons of Musket do as well in their early stud career as Brigadier has done their owners will be very fortunate. And now a word or two as to Brigadier’s breeding. He is by Musket (imp.) out of Pungawerewere by Golden Grape (imp.), out of Atalanta by Towton (imp.), out of Crescent by Sir Hercules. Musket naturally needs no eulogy from any sporting writer —his deeds both on the turf and at the stud are indelibly written in all turf annals—but Pungawerewere, it must be mentioned, won the Dunedin

Cup of 1876, and scored on several other occasions in the blue and white hoops of Mr. F. W. Delamain. “ Punga,” as she is generally called for brevity’s sake, has foaled some good ones in her time in addition to Brigadier. Tetford, a son of her’s, won the Wanganui Cup of 1886, and he is full brother to Brigadier. Tranter, another brother, did not disgrace himself when sent over to Australia, for he won a Maiden Plate at Flemington, and finished close up with the placed horses in the V.R.C. Derby that fell to the lot of that great horse The Australian Peer, with two other great horses close behind him—Abercorn and Niagara. Punga’s son, St. James, won the Dunedin Cup of 1890, and after him saw the light a colt by Nordenfeldt out of Pungawerewere that was destined to “ cut ” the two-mile record for New Zealand and otherwise shed lustre on his sire and dam. This was Crackshot, who is practically three-parts brother to Brigadier, for he is by a son of that horse’s sire out of Brigadier’s dam. Crackshot stamped as one of the greatest racehorses we have seen for many a year by his wins in the Canterbury Cup and Auckland Cup, not to mention other races he was successful in.

Brigadier will travel the surrounding districts of Auckland as under :—Devonporton Mondays; Onehunga and Mangere on Tuesday • Otahuhu and Papatoitoi on Wednesday ; East and West Tamaki on Thursday; Harp of Erin, Ellerslie, on Friday; and Epsom and Mount Albert on Saturday. His terms are 8 guineas for thoroughbred mares and 5 guineas for half-breds, and application by owners of mares is to be made either to his owners, Messrs. R. & R. Duder, Devonport, or Mr. J. Thorpe, Harp- of. Erin Hotel, Ellerslie.