The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-03-10

for him. The horse was purchased simply
on the chance that he might possess the
capacity Of beSettins some of Hanover
Qualities in the stud.
This question of prepotency is q singular
one. and several instances exist in current
turf career. In the stud he sired Domino,
the 2-year-old wonder of his year. Domiuo's
later racing career proved him a Splinter
= rather than slayer. yet his offspring show
directly 10 their grandsire. Himyar. and
II is an instance Of this. He last year
showed his ability to carry weight and to
80 a distance. DISCUSSES ability to go a
route seems to indicate that Himyar is pos
sessed of the power of transmitting his
qualities to his grandchildren rather than
10 his immediate descendants.
Sallie Woodford's Ideal Pedigree.
one of the first breeders in this neighbour
mood to recognize the value of blood strains
alone, was Joseph ID. Lucas, who purchased
the mare Saliie Woodford three years ago
and placed her in the stud. This mare has
iorfnances of both sire and dam, that could
be conceived. both Salvador. her sire, and
Miss Woodford, her dam, having held the
title Of King and Queen of the turf in their
respective years. In performance. however,
Sallte was sadly lacking, and failed to come
up to the record of her ancestors. She won
n few races in cheap company, and was
, never even n moderately good handicap
performer. She sold for $4,000 as n yearliny
and won but a small fraction of that sum
In her racing career. 1t seems as if such
a pedigree as hers should have results in
her offspring. at least, and her first foal,
which is by Doctor Hasbrouck. will be
watched with interest during its turf career.
Should the animal prove of stake class 1t
Will be an argument in favor of prepotency,
even admitting that many of its good quail
tiles are derived from Doctor Hasbrouck.
AS another instance. the case of knight of
Ellerslie can be taken. knight OF El'erslie
was by the best sire of his day-Eolns-yet
he never set the turf world on fire during
his racing career. In fact. had he not been
given a chance In the stud he might have
been forgotten altogether. Yet he sired
Henry Of Navarro. whom many critics be-
lfeve the best horse the American turf has
produced since the days OF Hanover. and
whose qualities bore a striking resemblance
to those of his grandsire. Eolus. The same
could be said of The Huguenot, also by
knight Of Ellerslie. Moss Rose was the
dam of both horses. TIL fact of two horses
Of this class descending from Knight of
Ellerslie seems to indicate that there Is a
strong argument in favor of the prepotency
theory and of certain strains of blood.
OF course. in spite Of these examples. 1t IS
understood that, irrespective of pedigree,
there are some horses naturally such utter
weeds that they could never beget offspring
watch: they may be descended from the
king of the turf ard yet be worthless as
racehorses and incapable of string a horse
horses generally give such proof of their
i~ncapacity that they need not be retained
to experiment with on the chance of pre-
potency becoming manifest.
Many horses. however, may make poor
records or be animals of only moderate
ability. and yet undergo such hard racing
they fail to make 4 success; or they may
happen to be out of sorts during their turf
career. or some one of the thousand acct
dents Of a horse race may happen which
prevent them from winning. It is such
horses as these, that have still shown :
themselves possessed of Intelligence and
ambition in spite of their hard luck. that a
chance In the stud may be advisable.
Kingston and EtheIbert.
This fact is becoming more generally rec
ognized than formerly, and especially in the
a horse may not have been entered IN
distances during his racing career at which
he was capable. and consequently have no
animal Of considerable ability.
What reputation would Kingston have
had If he had always been entered in races
of a mile and over? What reputation would
Ethelbert have If he had never been start
ed in races Of more than six furlongs?
Kingston was a high-class sprinter. the
fastest Of his day. but 1t was supposed for
years that he could only sire sprinters in
turn. Admiration. his daughter. alone up
set this theory by showing herself a spien,
would probably be set on the shelf at pres
ent If he had always been entered IN races
With sprinter IS as he is a notoriously slow
sidered the best handicap horse in the
East.
Had Kingston been entered throughout
his racing career in races not suited TO his
and still been given a chance in
the stud on the strength Of his pedigree.
the result would have justified the expert
ment a. hundred times. as has been shown.
A powerful animal like Ethelbert will I'M
make his mark. in the stud, and
yet had he been confined to sprint races
and his future depended on hts perform
ance there. there is little likelihood that
he would ever get a chance to show his
ability as q sire.
1t is for animals of their sort that may
have failed to make a reputation for some
cause that the system of giving horses a
chance on the strength of their pedigrees is
of value. The sale of Frankfort. by Han
brother to- Hamburs. for III 100 at tha rea
cent DAILY sale. shows the value of blood
alone IN the estimation of some breeders.
bacan TINS p penra IN rl,d elpoa ,lnes Is graamally
the older idea Of performance alone.