Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-27
ALL SHE WAS WORTH
Horsemen Believe Nellie A.,
2,13, Was Well Sold at 5000.
Something About the Famous AIcantara
Who Brought at Auction Last Week
Only 6 Per Gent. of What He Cost
Three Years Ago.


Only Per Cent. of What He Cost
Three Years Ago,
r. c. Taylor can consider that his
mare, Nellie A., 2;lS. was well sold at
the Fassig auction in New York last
week. While the $500 he received for her
is far less than the $2025 bid that
brought her to Mr. Taylors stable in
this city little more than two years
ago, she brought about every cent she
was worth in the opinion Of most horse
men. The mare goes to the Suburban
Farm at Glenns Falls, and will un-
doubtedly be used for breeding purposes
Her days Of racing are over, although
hers was brilliant career three or four
years ago. She is not fast mare on
the Snow as Mr.. Taylor has discovered,
and she is not fitted to be a gentle
mans road mare, as she Is unsound and
does not possess style or Ioading quail
ties. But, after all, there are few horses
today that are better or more conspic-
uous examples OF early and progressive
"A
is no longer of value as a race mare may
be attributed to causes other than early
training In her yearling form she
stepped in 2:29% in '93 she was the only
two-year-old to beat 2:20, ending that
year with a mark Of 2:19; IN her three
year-old form she placed a mark of 2:16A
to her credit, and won the $4,000 stake
at Charter Oak, and she wound up her
racing career with d mark of 2:13 as a
ry,,Y 4 Il.
We're taken in races in which she won in
prizes alone $4,000.
But her only value today lies in her
worth as a brood mare. She certainly
has the breeding and her reputation as
a youngster will greatly enhance the
value of her progeny. Her breeding is
quite remarkable, as there is no near
cross to any but superior animals, with
numerous noted brood mares as well as
With sires with records. She has three
direct lines to Hambletonian, the collat-
eral lines showing three crosses of Clay
blood, two of Mambrino chief, one Of
American Star, while back Of these are
to be found strong ipfusions Of the blood
of Diomed, through American Eclipse,
Sir Archy and Grey Eagle. But she is
Of sluggish disposition, she has not the
nerve force of many mares, and she is
considerably larger than the IDEAL brood
mare. 1t will require careful mating to
procure foals of unusual value. While
it is not every well-bred one that trots
fast, still it is certain the best breeding
on the whole, gives the best results.
Yea, verify, the mighty have fallen!
Sold for $780," were the words echoed
through Madison Square Garden
Wednesday evening as the mighty trot-
ting sire AIcantara was being led out of
the sales ring. For that figure the noble
stallion the sire of considerably over
100 performers, had changed hands.
Three years ago he was sold under the
same hammer in the same ring for $1O-
900. At that time everybody said the
price was ridiculouSly low, for he had
earned as much as that the preceding
season, and had at least six 1 years of
usefulness ahead of him. No wonder
then, that with three years still remain
ing to him, at lowest calculation, mur-
muir of surprise passed wave-like across
the assembled horsemen when they real
lied that Alcantara had been sold at 6
per cent on the dollar. OF course Alcan-
tara is old. No one can deny that. He is
y. And yet how many famous stations
one can think of, that sired some Of
their best colts at a still more advanced
age. or course there may be many
things connected with the matter of
which the press and the public know
nothing. But from any point of view
Alcantara was cheap horse at $500
Whatever may be Alcantara's future
history, his past has been resplendent
with noble achievements His career
has been interesting in more ways than
one. His colts have not all enjoyed the
favorable opportunities for training
granted some other noted sires, but yet
he stands today in the very front ranks
of producing stations. In 1890 Alcantara
WED with Nutwood for first place Gnonors
as sire of new comers to the charmed
circle and, according to the year book
just issued, he now has 81 trotters and
36 PAGERS, or a total of III in the Q 80
list. Electioneer leads the list with 1856
Nutwood hats 1855; Red Wilkes, 144; On
ward, l35; and nearly all this time Al
cantara has stood right here in Massa-
chusetts, where many horsemen from
afar would have you understand race
horses cannot be bred. AS a sire of 2:l5
speed Alcantara leads them ALL while
he has scores of producing sons and
daughters. At the 80 New York horse
show there was above Alcantara's stall
an inscription that pretty strik;ngly set
forth his claims to public attention. 1t
went something like this, as the Spy
man remembers it: ''Alcantara, 2:23:
the leading sire of 1890, the leading sire
of his age; record Qour years., 2;23; the
fastest at the age when made; sired by
the world-renowned George Wilkes,
2:22, the greatest sire of his day; dam
Alma Mater, the greatest producing
daughter of her sire, Mambrino Patchen,
the greatest brood-mare sire" And
much in that inscription, replete as it is
with superlatives, is as true today as it
was eight years ago.
AlcantaraS career as an individual,
aside from his producing qualities has
been interesting. Bred to be race
horse and progenitor of speed, so it
mas proved. His turf career closed most
brilliantly when he was a four-year-old
1t was in stubbornly-co race
against aged horses at Louisville, KY,
where he won first heat in 2:23, the fifth
in 2:241a, made dead heat the sixth
in 2:26N and was beaten in the seventh
and eighth by Post Boy, a notorious
skipper and runner Alcantara was lame
at the time, but fought 1t out to the Bit
ter end. In his preparation for the race,
he had showed halves in his work in
:06 Later he went to Highlawn farm,
Lee, Mass, where he remained as its
premier stallion until the death of It's
proprietor, j. G.. Davis. Then. together
with the other Highlawn stock, he was
sent to the New York sale, and since
then has lived at the venerable A. A.
-As,l.