At Sylvia Park.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume V, Issue 215, 6 September 1894, Page 8

At Sylvia Park.

[ BY

BORDERER.]

When the auctioneer uplifts his hammer at Sylvia Park in December next, Messrs L. D. and N. A. Nathan will have in all seven well-bred yearlings to offer to lovers of the thoroughbred. There will be six colts and one filly, and had Fate been kind to the Eiridspord —Jadestone youngster, the number would have been increased by a colt that for breeding and looks it would have been hard to beat. The seven youngsters left above the turf are, however, good enough to dull if not obliterate the disappointment the Sylvia Park breeders must have felt when the Eiridspord colt joined the great majority. At least that was the opinion I formed when in company with Mr N. A. Nathan I walked over the Sylvia Park paddocks a few days’ back in order to obtain an ' introductory glimpse at the material which the Messrs Nathan will offer at their forthcoming sale. Of course it is not a very favourable time just now to sum up the results of last year’s matings, about which a more accurate idea will be obtainable a little later on, but from what I saw of the Park youngsters I fancy purchasers will have little to complain of when the auctioneer places them in the ring. Before I look at the budding stock, my attention is directed to the brood mares and the latest addition to to the Messrs Nathan’s stud, the filly which Sybil a few days ago presented to Cuirassier. The youngster is darker coated than her dam, and as far as can be judged at a time like the present she should grow into a well-built one. Of course at her age one cannot obtain much of an idea of her future prospects. The first matron to come under inspection was the Macaroni mare Lovebird, who looks remarkably well considering that eighteen years have passed over her head. At the last sales she was represented by a St. Leger filly who is at the present time grazing at the Park. Last season Lovebird was mated with Leolantis, and as I write news comes that the Messrs Nathan have had another stroke of misfortune for the mare has foaled a dead colt. This matron is getting on in years, and her work at the stud cannot be of much longer duration, so the loss of her Leolantis progeny is doubly to be deplored. Lovebird was bred in 1875 by the Cobham Stud Company, and imported to New Zealand in 1882 by Mr G. G. Stead. She is one of the few Macaroni mares in the colony, being by Macaroni (winner of the Two Thousand Guineas and Derby of 1863) out of Better Half. On her dam’s side Macaroni goes back to the same blood as Kelpie, the sire of many winners on the Australian turf. ' Miss Letty carries a foal to Dreadnought, and when this youngster comes he should be able to stretch his legs to some considerable account if breeding goes for anything. The Park studmasters had decidedly hard luck to lose the colt which Jadestone foaled to Eiridspord, and their misfortune was not lessened when Nordenfeldt’s half sister missed to Cuirassier, to whom she goes back again. Had the Eiridspord colt lived he would have fetched a more than fair figure, for I know Mr P. Butler had a covetous eye on him, and would have nodded his head to some considerable tune in order to secure the colt whose breeding was certainly very hard to find fault with. A three-year-old filly named Charente was the next I looked at. She is by Nordenfeldt—La Dauphine, and was, I think, the first foal of her dam. Not a single fault can be found with her build, and when she mates with St. Hippo (to whom she is booked for the coming season) she should produce something well above the average. Another promising and grandly bred young mare that will be served by St. Hippo is the Trenton filly that Mr Nathan purchased when Jadestone was picked up by him in Australia for such a ridiculous figure. When I saw this filly as a two-year-old I thought she was on the small" side, but in her progress to three year old age she has altered considerably, and now looks a picture. She is out of a mare by First King, out of Lady Granville. A big romping three-year-old bay filly by Leolinus—Gantiniere seems somewhat familiar to my eye, and a remark from the stud groom as to her prospects in the jumping Fine brings back to my mind the introduction I had to her last year. Then her fine strong build and great legs suggested to me the idea of fencing, and I learn that the leaping line ! will be her mission. Another twelve months will.be given her before the training track is introduced to her, and when that comes to pass I am very

hopeful of her future. The mating that produced her represents a cross of Leolinus and Musket that is hard to disagree with. In looks she resembles her sire, having the usual Leolinus back, and right through she shows great bone. There is just a suspicion of pigeontoe about her, but that matters little, as witness the galloping of the Australian sire Pigeontoe, who was strikingly deformed in his feet. That twisting, however, did not interfere a jot with his galloping, as may be imagined by his defeat of the champion Portsea in the Hotham Handicap in the year that Malvolio won his Melbourne Cup. A three-year-old Nordenfeldt —Fishgirl mare, which was bred at Papakura and purchased at a Wellington Park sale, is booked to St. Hippo, and a nice compact mare she is. That beautifully bred matron, Roie, is carrying a Cuirassier foal that should make its appearance early next month, and with the help of St. Hippo’s sister the Wellington Park sire should give a good account of himself. Innisfail, a three-year-old brown daughter of Nordenfeldt—lnisthona is also destined for stud work, and Bellona, the daughter of Nelson that went to the stud as a two-year-old —rather early that —carries a foal to St. Hippo, to whom she is booked to return. The Musket mare, Cantiniere, is empty, having missed to St. Hippo whom she revisits, and a finely built light chestnut daughter of Eiridspord and Aorere, who was picked up at a very cheap figure in Australia, is booked on a similar mission. In all, eight of the Messrs Nathan’s mares are marked as occupants of St. Hippo’s coming harem, and if the temporarily exiled crack does not sire race horses through them it will assuredly not be their fault. He will be given a fair show, and it remains for the future to prove whether he can “ get” as well as he can race. A Castor —Moilena filly, the property of Mr Dan McLeod, is grazing in this paddock, and close by I see Liquidation, who has missed to St. Hippo, and Operatic who is carrying a St. Leger foal that is due to make its arrival early in November. La Dauphine, who looks rather poor, missed to Cuirassier, and returns to him. Taking them all round, the mares at the Park are somewhat poor, for the grass feeding has not been of the best this year. Until the matrons foal they are restricted to the feed obtainable in the paddocks, as the proprietors of the stud are inclined to charge the system of feeding followed by them last year as the cause of so many of their mares having experienced misses. The order now is, grass feeding until they foal. In an adjoining enclosure I see a pair of two-year-old fillies, whose looks proclaim their sire. • They are by St. Leger, out of Lovebird and Brassolis respectively, and were purchased at last year’s sale by (according to the sale report) Mr Kingstone, of Wanganui, who has left them grazing at the Park ever since he made the deal. The fillies are chestnut in colour, and are both very evenly made. What their future may be I do not know, but whether put to track or stud they should certainly do justice to their parentage. Having finished with the present and prospective matrons of the stud, I inspect the seven yearlings—the object of my visit to the farm. The first two • shown me are apart from the others, having a paddock to themselves. One is a filly and her mate proves to . be of the opposite sex. As the latter moves away from us it is easy to account for his separation from the other colts, for half a glance shows him to be an invalid, who drags his hind quarter in a very sick fashion. Lameness in the stifle is his trouble, and the marks of blistering are easily discernible. His keener cannot account for the mishap, but from the youngster’s appearance it is clear that he must have been cast in his box This colt has had an unlucky time of it, for in addition to his present misfortune, his career was nearly cut short through stoppage before the first day of his life had been spent. He is by Cuirassier out of Liquidation, and bears the appropriate name of Reconstruction —an apt title, for he appears to be rapidly reconstructing. And he will require it all to face the December sale in proper order. The filly that shares his paddock is a pretiily-built chestnut by St. Leger out of Bellona. This is the only representative of the weaker sex in the ranche, and she bears a decidedly racy look about her. In conformation she recallls her sire, although in the headpiece she somewhat resembles her dam whose first foal she is. The youngster is strongly built, and though not too big, she certainly cannot be called on the small side. Her colour is

a bright chestnut, and her white marks take the shape of a star on the forehead and a stocking on the near hind leg. Her shoulders are nicely sloped, she has good bone and a well-developed forearm, and her loins and quarters give promise of future strength. Her dam being by Nelson out of Muskerina this filly has Doncaster, Yattendon, and Musket in her pedigree. In a paddock further afield I come across five colts, three of whom are by Cuirassier (a sire who will become more and more appreciated as time goes on) and two by the proved sire of racers, St. Leger. I examine the St. Leger pair first. One is out of the Nordenfeldt—-Bianca mare, Lady Whitford, a matron who was very early put to stud work. Her present youngster is, like his dam, on the small side, but his build is very compact. A dragging of his rear shows something very close to another case of box casting, but he is far and away better than the Liquidation youngster. He is pretty thick set, and will no doubt develop into a strong low sort of a colt, for his quarters denote great future power. His dam runs back to Sylvia’s dam, Juliet, on both sides of her pedigree, and can boast three direct strains of Fisherman. The colt under review is chestnut in colour. Running alongside of him is a bay colt who looks pretty well the pick of the paddock. He proves to be a St. Leger —Cantiniere, and if his dam is going to give a racer after the Brown Bess type, this youngster, on looks at all events, fills the bill of fare. He is a decidedly handsome bay, with black points, and not a speck of white can be seen on his body. His head is plain, but very businesslike, the long neck is fitted on finely sloped shoulders, and his bone right through looks good. This colt has a great middlepiece with a nice smooth back and strong loins and stands over plenty of ground. In action he has a nice, low, lengthy stride, and if all goes well with him, Brown Bess will soon have a worthy full brother. The Cuirassiers’ are all brown in colour, and although plain youngsters they are very nicely put together. The Sybil colt is a well-grown, racy looking fellow with a neat head, well turned middle piece, and good solid-looking quarters. Out of a half sister to the dam of last year’s Victoria Racing Club’s Newmarket hero, and by a sire like Cuirassier this colt’s breeding should not fail him, and his appearance is well worthy of his blood. Roie’s all brown youngster is a big loose made colt, with a head the reverse of pretty, but stamped with plenty of character. Good flat bone is apparent, and his quarters are very powerful. The youngest member of the quintette is a "colt out of La Dauphine, and unlike the other Cuirassiers his head piece is of the showy order. Thick set, with a finely shaped middlepiece and quarters speaking strength all over, he fills the eye very well, and when the lot go streaking around the paddock he is far from being the slowest on his legs. His dam is by The Dauphin by Traducer. and the mixture of Musket and Traducer in the union that produced this colt is a nick of blood beyond unfavourable comment. Summing them up the St. Leger—Cantiniere colt, and the two Cuirassiers out of Roie and Sybil, appear to be a trio that should set most heads nodding when December 31st comes round. Later on I hope to have a more favourable opportunity of inspecting these youngsters, for in two months’ time they will be very different to what they are now. Before leaving the Park I have a glance at Fright, who is being hacked out there pending the return of G. Wright, who will on his return take him up again for the summer hurdling. The ugly Newminster gelding looks in flourishing condition and appears to relish hugely the chance he has of roaming the paddock during the daytime. Newminster’s aged son gave us a fair hurdling gallop when he showed Union Jack the way over the hurdle course at the last autumn meeting at Ellerslie, and won his two miles with 9.12 up in 3min szsec. But he was a sore disappointment on Melinite’s Grand National day, and I fancy the soft ground killed the Newminster gelding’s chance. He is a fair-weather horse, and in slippery holding an animal to leave severely alone. On our way home we look in at Geo. Wright’s stable, where John Chaafe holds temporary sway, and a glance at the various boxes shows that the veteran trainer is doing splendidly with the racers in his charge.