The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-05-19

s,ec,a, cnyresno,;dprce OF The sunday Republic,
Lexington. Ky. May 1.-THE failures In
.hc thoroughbred breeding business ~oaio
make enc of the NEST Interesting chapters
in tart history. Men with unlimited capital
have sunk fortunes in an enacavor TO solve
the mroasIem of breeding with profit the
bigb-niettled racer. The plains of the prog
vess of the. race horse are dotted wita the
Skeletons of dissfpated fortunes and the
tombstones of wrecked bank accounts
Yet. where. men have failed a woman mas
made a success of the business.
With scarcely half a dozen brood mares
in her possession. Mrs. John 81. Clay. the
prophecies of the famous Ashanti stno,
fas tred more great horses than many oil
THE noted stock farms Of America, in which
thousands of dollars of capital are invested.
Ashland stud has the Tost Interesting MS
tory of al! the breeding farms in this coun-
try. II Is the mother establishment, being
fqunced by Henry Clay. the great Common
er. more than seventy years ago. The
breeding of thoroughbred horses at Ashland
Fad tts beginning as q pasiime for. Its own
er, the immortal statesman. He commenced
In a very moderate manner with enc mare,
Susan. a daughter of Darnady Dipmed.
HOW HENRY CLAY
COMMENCED.
He next secured Kate, by Tiger. and
Nancy Peters. by Sir Peter Teazle. and as
these. mares foaled his entries in his little
studbook continued. giving a faithful rec
ord of what his mares had done. From this
hook Is to be learned that imp. Yorkshire
was presented to him by Commodore Nor
gan Of the United States Navy. and Mag
snelia was also a gift from his friend. Doctor
Mercer. His last. entry was May 5. lS4e,
when he recorded the foaling of a bay colt
by Monarch, out of kocklsn.
From that date his youngest son. John.
the late husband of Mrs Clay. assumed
charge OF the thoroughbred stock. and uiti-
mately became a success as a breeder.
MANY CLAssIC
EVENTS WON.
John NJ. Clay for years raced the horses
he bred in his own colors. and he won most
of the classic events of the turf in that day.
He bred Maggie B., dam of lroquois, the
only A~merican-bred winner of the English
ADerby.. and st. Ledger. and Sachem. also
bred by him. ran third in the Derby in
Shotorer's year. He bred the great Ken
lucky that won twenty-five of his twenty
three starts n sold for $4,000. the high
est. price ever paid for a horse up to thdt
time: and ether equally as celebrated,
Boone. Simon Kenton. Skedaddle. Gilroy.
sire OF the great California stallion Grin
stead; Victory, Day Star. winner of the
Kentucky Derby in Himyars year; Sauce
+ Box. sold for s. 900 rs a 2-year-old; Leveler,
winner Of the Kentucky st. Ledger. Bal
y tooaAs SIX S1aAy RCtf0lAiItT ttdt ever N0u -du
entire meeting programme. she winning on
consecutive. days stakes at one. two, three
and four mile heats: Ginger. True Blue, the
drst horse to run two miles as fast as
S:s2h; Ballet, dam of Modesty. the only
!, FLY ever to. win~the American Derby: The
gBanshee' and Sly Boots and Squeeze EN-,
two mares for which Mr.. LorilIard paid
1900. s
Ffattering as was Mr.. Clay's. success as a
2. breeder. his widow has carried the estab-
lishnent on with marked ability. and. the
horses foaled and bred at Ashland Farm
are sttll earning taurels on the turf. She
is a most enthusiastic breeder. watches the
colts of. her favofite mares as If they
were babies. and oversees her entire farm,
being superintendent ae well as proprietress.
Even the minor details are looked after by
. this lady. now nearing her three score
4 yeafB . ten. She is unwilling to trust
the. care Of her favorite mares and colts to
the skilled men she has employed. and
down to the cutting of the feed for the
yeariings b casts a watcbfui eye over
everything connected with her great breed
ing plant.
CEASES TO SELL
MARES ON FIILiEs.
Some few years ago. realizing the value
of the blood Of the Maria West and Mag
noiia families, Mrs. Clay ceased to dispose
of any of the maree or fllies she bred, and
as a result, her thoroughbred holdings have
rapidly Increased. and to-day, from a hand
fui OF half q dozen mares she had in stock
scarcely a decade ago. she now has twenty
nine stud matrons In. her Ashland estab-
J.ehnaent. BY far. the most interesting OF
these famous mares is old Bun and Blue,