The sun., 1909-02-14
YANKEE OR COLONIAL HORSES
ENGLISH DISCUSSION ON BENE-
FIT or OUTSIDE BREEDS.


Inbr eeding and Early RACING Said TO Bs
the Cause OF Nen-staycrs-Freo Trade
In Racers May Beget stamina-some
statistics ON the English Thoroughbred
American and Australian strains OF
the thoroughbred are attracting lot oi
attention In England just now, for at nc
period In the history Of the turf have 90
many horses from the colonies and this
country set foot on English soil. Some
OF the breeders are OF opinion that this
infusion Of strange blood may be OF use.
for they claim that Of late there has been
too much inbreeding Of the racehorse.
This they say has caused a crop OF fast
non-stayers, and it is limited that the fault
showed In the classic winners OF the last
few years. Others. and among them are
numbered the conservative breeders
who believe the English thoroughbred
supreme, scout the idea OF having any
thing at all TO do with breeds from either
Australia or America. In handling the
question the Field says:
AT once we may deolere in favor OF
free trade in horse breeding. for We are
firmly convinced that too much inbreed-
ing must some time or other have q
disastrous result indeed we are often
| inclined to think that the great deartn
Of stayers and the apparent super
fluffy Of speedy non-stayers may be due
to too much inbreeding.
1T is also possible that the softness
both OF constitution and OF limb which
is so frequently found In the modern
thoroughbred Is also due to the same
thing. But there are doubts in connection
with each side Of the case, and nrst u
may be that there are more stayers than
one vots Of, and that tho great number
of abort distsnc runners Is accounted
for by the fact that there are more
short races then long, and that II Is easier
To train h orses for short races than IN
run a long course. AS regards delioacy
OF limb and constitution, how much OF
this is due in the first place TO early fore
ing. and in the second place to coddling
In the stables.
1T Is almost impossible TO show a really
smart quarter mark unless q horse has
been kept in a very warm stable at an
even and very high temperature. and It
is also a difficult matter to keep horse
sound on his legs who has begun to gal
lop when about twenty months old and
who has C, nued to gallop almost daily
while inv nay be called the childhood
period OF ,xistence. II may be then
that it Ia H. system and not the horses
themselves which should be blamed, and
that IL we insist upon having yearlings
which have been forced for the market.
upon early two-year-old racing and upon
! hot stables we can only expect a very
small percentage Of even the best nags
TO last long on the turf. II we look at the
old turf guides and take note OF what was
done with horses in the early days OF rae
ing we shall see that there was no forcing
and that in fact all horses had plenty Of
thine in which to mature. Let any one ex-
anime "Orton's Turf Annals Of York and
Doncaster' and he will find that all the
early racing was for horses which were
fairly matured. These annals begin with
racing in 100. and from that date until
l743 there we're no races Of which Orton
makes mention for horses younger than
s years old. and most Of them were for
six-year-olds and aged horses.
III
olds was run for at York in heats Of two
miles each, and we are not aware OF any
four -year-old racing which took place
previous TO this date. In l75i there Is q
record Of a four-year-old race at Don
caster. but the returns OF tho Doncaster
meetings for several years are missing
and IL is possible that similar competi-
tions had taken place at an earlier date.
The first mention OF three year -olds
given by Orton-who had all the Oldest
calendars to work on-was In 1770. and six
years later the st. Leger was established.
wbile the Oaks and the Derby date from
i779 and 1850 respectively. Two-year-
old racing came a good deal later, and
for a time during the middle Of the nine
teenth century there were yearling races
at some meetings, but theee did not last
long. Also. IL we glance at the calendar
return Of the races run in four mile heats
we shall find that they we're in great
measure confined to five and six year -olda
and aged horses, and in fact these races
appear TO have given way before the in
Aux OF racing for two and three-year-
olds The change was doubtless the out
come Of a desire not to have to keep such
costly things as racehorses any longer
that necessary before giving them a
chance Of paying their way. The Derby
Oaks and st. Leger. il need hardly be said
quickly became the greatest races OF the
year, and thus three year racing
was made more important than racing
confined to older horsee, and this position
il has ever since maintained.
1T may be. then. that the average
thoroughbred is better gifted with speed
than stamina because he has been forced
almost from foalhood and because he Ia
trained for speed. In all probability
IL the modern rscehorse was not trained
until he was rising four he would be found
to be far too slow. There would Of
course be exceptions. but a return 10
something like the old style is not de-
sirable for score of different reasons
which are too obvious to need detailing
at length. What we are now concerned
with is whether it is advisable to use suit
able out crosses Of blood when such offer
themselves. and we are greatly inclined
TO think that 1t Is. especially when an out
croes results In breeding-of course At g
long remove-to an original female line
which has proved its worth. Now such
out crosses as these are to be found In the
best Colonial blood. whether from Aus
trslia or New Zealand. because the colo
NAL horses are all descended from British
expectations and have no base blood low
colonial sires have not been a marked
success in this country as yet; but, truth
10 tell, with an exception or two they have
not had any very great chances, and more
over II is far too early to speak decisively
either one way or tie other. Most OF
the colonials which have been sent TO
this country stay well and they appear to
be sound and hardy on the whole. II may
be, as has been suggested. that the average
the average English form and that too
| much has hean q Decfad from some Of the