The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-03-10
FAILURE ON THE TURF.
SUCCESS IN THE STUD.
Old Idea That a Racing Record Is Essential to
a Thoroughbred's Success in the Stud
Is Being Abandoned.

WRITTEN FoR THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC.
A point which the death of Hanover has
raised generally before the thoroughbred
breeders OF the country Is the question o.
prepotency and OF the value Of certain
strains Of blood IN breeding as opposed tc
the qualities Of individual horses alone
Previous to Hanover's death his blood in
other stations or mares commanded nc
moro attention than that OF many othe,
aires OF merit; yet now that he IS dead too
much attention cannot be given by breed
ers to horses even distantly related to him.
In England, for years past, tho value OF
certain strains Of blood In selecting ami
mails for breeding purpose has been recos-
mixed even when the individual animals of
this strain were comparatively valueless
as performers on the turf. The breeder in
that country often purchases and expert
ments with horses of royal breeding, but
poor records. on the chance hat tho quail
ties Of their ancestors may show IN their
descendants. and In many cases the expert
ment proves successful.
The Bruoe~Lowe figure system Is based
on somewhat similar grounds so far as
recognizing. the value OF strains of blood
is concerned. The strains producing the
greatest horses OF each generation are
numbered. and horses of fitting strains are
mated together, mathematically, one might
say. on the theory that the combination Of
these strains will ave better results than
the indiscrtminate breeding Of good per-
Formers In this system, however, the in
dfvidual plays q leading part.
In England tho statement is frequently
seen IN turf papers that such and such a
horse or marc has been a failure on the
turf, but will no doubt prove a success in
the stud. Then will follow a lengthy de-
scription OF the strain from which the ami
NAL is descended. with the comment that
such breeding should surely have results
in the stud
Untried Mares in tho Stud.
Although untried mares Of good breeding
are often placed directly in the stud in this
country. placing entire dependence upon the
strain OF blood from which an animal is
descended and upon the qualities shown by
its ancestors was formerly extremely rare
when the animal proved itself a failure on
the turf. Even 20 this day, many mares
possessed Of splendid pedigrees are sold for
q mere nothing at the close of meetings
where they have proved of no value as rae
cling tools.
This state Of affairs Is being gradually
changed. and shrewd breeders are begin
ning to realize the Importance of giving the
animals at least q chance in the stud be-
fore RELOCATING them to the shafts of a de-
livery wagon. which Is generally their fate
when sold. Both mares and stations are
now often reserved for q trial in the stud
even when they have shown little ability
on the track. and . chance is given them
as brood animals before they are dis
posed Of.
An department Of this sort has often met
with truly wonderful success, and a horse
has proved OF value in the stud which was
Of little value a. q racer. Singularly
enough. some sires appear unable to trans
init their good qualities to their direct |
descendants, although the descendants of
these horses in turn possess the qualities
to a marked degree. This quality Of pre-
potency makes 1t often worth while to try
an apparently poor descendant OF a worthy
sire in the stud.
The case of ormonde, the horse for whom
W. o'Bnen McDonough paid $50. 900. may be
taken as an instance. Ormande sired one
good horse Orme. Since then his efforts |
ing platers Of the mixes description, many
OF whom are now racing on the California
coast Yet Orme has in turn proved him
moro than his own ability, and which have
many OF the peculiar1ties and qualities of
their grandsire, Ormonde.
Flying Fox. BY Orme out of Vampire, is
conceded to be the best horse seen on the |
English turf since the days Of Ormonde. He
10 a better horse than his sire, Orme. and
his grandsire. Ormonde, IN many
ways. Yet II appears impossible for Or
monee to sire q horse Of the sort, although
he may number some among his grandchil-
dren Possessed Of his own qualities. On
this account it appears as If the blood of
Ormonde was worth testing In the stud for
the thard generation. even should the second
gsneratton be below his standard, as Orme
undoubtedly was. 1
Sons OF IN Demand.
This point OF ~prepotency has been re-
vfved by the death Of Hanover, and breeders
are earnestly endeavoring to secure his
blood in any sort of an animal. His son.
Handsome. who dropped out of sight early
In his career, finally located last fall some
where IN Oregon, and a large sum was paid L