TROTTING.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1304, 22 April 1915, Page 18

TROTTING.

PROGRESS OF TROTTING IN AUSTRALASIA. In view of the progress trottng is making in Australasia, and the prices brought for anything like highly bred youngsters, there would appear to be money to be made in bringing a shipment of highly-bred trott ng youngsters to this country. The terrible condition of the trotting horse market in America at the present time may be judged from the result of a big sale last February at Lexington, one of the principal trotting centres of the United States. The low prices are attributed to the effects of the war and the famine prices of fodder. Yearlings, from pedigree sires and dams, were sold at anything from £lO to £l5. Two hundred and seven horses were sold for an average of £39. Thirteen of these brought decent prices, and deducting the thirteen, the average of the rest was £3O per head. Among the lot were 42 yearlings, and they sold for an average of £27. The prices ranged from £5 to £l4O. Omitt ng the £l4O yearling, a bay colt by Northern Man from Mary Lloyd, by Vice-Commodore, the average was only £25. The service fees on these yearlings averaged £l6 each, truly a heart-breaking experience for the breeders. So far of modern years the Messrs. Tye, of the Allendale Stock Farm, Mentone, Victoria, have been the only importers of a shipment of American trotters, their representative, Mr. Andrew Robertson, visiting America to choose them, his brother, Mr. Lou Robertson, of Lempriere fame, being manager of the Allendale Farm. One of the biggest and the first shipment of trotters that ever came from

America was in 1880, when the late Dr. John Weir brought in the Zealandia, from San Francisco, Vermont Junior, Primero, Walter Scott, Crazy Jane, Beatrice W., Lady Fleetwood, Mountain Maid. Lady Lightfoot, Hattie Weir, and Strideaway. The b’ood of many of these, notably Vermont Junior and Hattie Weir, runs in the pedigree of many of the horses now trotting and pacing on our tracks.

Hattie Weir was the dam of Elmo 11., sire of St. Elmo, a great racehorse, and sire of some fast ones, among them being Sweet Elmo, whilst another of Hattie Weir’s foals was Hattie S., a fast pacing mare, at one time owned by Mr. John Samuels, of Mcoltan fame. Bred to Vancleve, Hattie S. in turn produced those fast and successful trotters, Valentia and Volcano.