ENGLISH HORSES IN AUSTRALIA.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVI, Issue 939, 5 March 1908, Page 6

ENGLISH HORSES IN AUSTRALIA.

The last few years have seen a number of English horses brought out to Australia as racehorses. Referring to this, the “ Australasian ” says :—At the time Mr W. R. Wilson practically opened up the Australian trade in racehorses with England by sending home Merman, it was a rare thing for an English horse to come here to race. We had Panic sent out by “ Bruni ” to Mr. Blackwell, of Tasmania, in the early sixties. He ran second in a Melbourne Cup with lost. Nemesis, drowned or killed soon afterwards on the City of Melbourne, won the Metropolitan of 1876, and a few others, such as The Englishman, raced with some success, but turfmen, until the saw Merman, Maluma, Paris, Newhaven, etc., doing well in England would not hear of imported horses for racing. Ten years ago Positano showed the erroneousness of this idea. Then came Sir Foote, Playaway, and others. Now it is quite the fashion to buy up young horses in England and send them out here to race. Provided the price is not exorbitant, the speculation should pay. If they fail at racing, the importations may do well at the stud. What effect on the breed all these St. Simon horses will have, remains to be seen. There can be no two opinions about the

modern English horse being faster than the average Australian. Some years ago that keen observer, Mr Joseph Thompson, wrote “ Terlinga:—“lt is no use sending Australian sprinters here. Ours are better than yours. Good stayers are all right. We have not got many of them.” There you have the position in a few words. These English sires are likely to dominate the position, and they will cause time records to be beaten, but if breeders neglect the good old hard strains, Australia’s reputation for breeding sound weightcarrying horses that can get a distance may be damaged. We must say we do like to see the names of Panic, Yattendon, and Musket in a pedigree. We hope the name for soundness and stamina will never be lost to Australia. As far as type is concerned the talk about deterioration in the thoroughbred is all nonsense. Thirty years ago eight and a half inches of bone was considered rare. Now nine inches is not so uncommon. Anything the old horse of the sixties could do over a distance the Carbines, Abercorns, and Wakefuls could eclipse by seconds. We are all right so far, and in comparison with other countries we do not s : n to excess in sprinting—but there may be trouble ahead.