Sires of the Season.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume IV, Issue 162, 31 August 1893, Page 9

Sires of the Season.

[By

Sir Launcelot.]

In accordance with my usual custom I this week commence my annual series of articles on the ‘ Sires of the Season,’ which are announced through the Sporting Review as being at the service of breeders. Though several good horses have been lost to us through exportation to Australia, there is still left in the colony a wide range of sires for any breeder to select from. There are left to us, I am glad to say, several good scions of Traducer and of Musket, and one of the latter is Mr R. Burke’s Br h Cuirassier, who, as was the case last year, will be located at Wellington Park. We are all anxiously awating the arrival of the first of the foals of this horse out of some of Mr Morrin’s best mares, and that the brother of Trenton has been given every chance in his first season at the stud cannot be gainsaid. As a racer Cuirassier made his debut as a two-year-old in the Great Northern Foal Stakes at the Auckland Summer Meeting, finishing unplaced behind Pearl Shell. He was not seen out again till the A.R.C. Autumn Meeting, when he again failed to attract attention from the judge in the Champagne Stakes, 6 furlongs, won by Hilda. As a three-year-old he made his opening bow in the Hawke’s Bay Guineas, running second to Manton, and behind him were Leopold, Rangipai, Katinka, Foxton, Jet d’Eau and Chudleigh. Cuirassier was started with 7.3 up for the Park Stakes Handicap, i| miles, at the Napier Park Spring, but did not get a ‘shop,’ the race being won by Recluse, who was handicapped on the same mark as he. He was then taken on to Christchurch for the C.J.C.’s Spring Meeting. Well do I remember that Derby in which he was a competitor. I thought when I saw the horses defile on to the track to take their preliminaries, that it would be hard to find a handsomer quartette anywhere. The quartette was Cuirassier, Manton, Wolverine and Chain Shot, and skilful jockeyship was not wanting, for Clifford was on Manton, White on Chain Shot, Sharp on Wolverine, and Kean on Cuirassier. Though Cuirassier was last of the four to finish, he was close-up, in fact a sheet would almost have covered him, Chain Shot and Wolverine, Manton winning with a bit in haiid. Brought back to his birthplace, Cuirassier broke his maidenhood at the Auckland Summer Meeting by winning the Trial Stakes, 1 mile, from Pretender, Patch work and Puschka, and next day came a greater triumph, for he dressed down Manton, Hilda and Raglan, in the Great Northern Derby, i£ miles, the distance being cut out in 2tnin 4-oJsec. At the A.R.C. Autumn Meeting he simply walked over Hilda and his stable-com-panion Hune in the Great Northern St. Leger, one mile and three-quarters and 132 yards, but inc. overweight, anchored him in the Autumn Handicap, one mile and a half, the next day, Leopold winning with 7.10. As a four-vear-old he started as top weight of the five runners in the. Auckland Racing Club Handicap on New Year’s Day, and 9.5 stopped him from getting a place, but on the second day of the meeting he carried but ilb less and easily beat Patchwork, Leorina, Antelope, Raglan and Cartridge in the Victoria. Handicap, one mile. As a five-year-old he was taken to Australia, and after- two unsuccessful essays at Randwick in the weight-for-age Spring Stakes and’/iCraven Plate, both of which were won by Carbine, he went to Melbourne, "where he was started in the Melbourne Cup. with 9-o up- Owing to his tendency to accumulate ‘ beef ’ he was a lot above himself when he came to the post, but nevertheless he was in the front rank of the field for more than half the journey of that memorable 10.5 victory of Carbine. He was pulled out once more at the same meeting; in the Spring Handicap, one mile and a quarter, and as the handi-

capper treated him to 9.8 it is not surprising that he finished unplaced behind Crown Jewel 7.6. It is superfluous to say anything about Cuirassier’s sire, Musket, and almost as superfluous to say anything about his dam, Frailty, who has bred such celebrities as Trenton, Niagara, Cissy, Mary and Zalinski—a brilliant galaxy of equine talent. Trenton has been a most pronounced success at the stud, though the last season was only his second, and the first of Niagara’s stock seen out —a three-year-old colt called Aquarius —won a two-year-old race in the neighborhood of Melbourne a few weeks back. Trenton was third on the list of winning stallions in Australia for the season just closed with 16 winners of a very meritorious record for a young stallion. Among those who owe their paternity to Trenton are Ronda (second in the last Melbourne Cup), Etra Weenie (winner of the Maribyrnong Plate and V.R.C. Oaks), Light Artillery (one of the present V.R.C. Derby favorites), Gaillardia, and Lady Trenton. Why should not Cuirassier emulate his brother Trenton at the stud ?

Cuirassier’s terms are 25gs for single mare ; 2ogs for two or more the property of the same owner.