The New York herald., 1922-12-24
EUROPE'S LEADING
AUTHORITY SAYS 50
Classic Races in England Pro-
vide Ideal System for Sc
lecting Future Sires.
GREATLY NEEDED HERE
-
Author Of Successful Female
Lines Classifies Modern Race
Horses for Breeding.
GREATLY NEEDED HERE
ny FRIEDRICH BECKER.

Special Correspondence to THE NEW YoIK
HIRALu.
HAMBURd, Germany. Dec. 6.--The
mAlern race horse. the foremost product
OF the stock breeders ingenuity, Is to
be divided into three classes:
l. The sprlnter (non-stayer).
2. The horse possessing speed and
stamina.
5. The slayer (without SPEEDY.
The most typical representatives OF
Class are those winners Of the
Guineas who failed to stay the nerby
course; ofa Glass 2 the Derby winner,
and of Glass 3 horses which failed in
the classic races, but won the Ascot
gold cup or any other important race
Of two miles and over.
The history of breeding clearly makes
out that prominent successes at the stud
Of members of Glass / were at all
times few and far between. They beget.
admittedly, a good number of winners.
but In exceptional cases only a supreme
horse OF Class .. Members of Class
: are the most reliable contingency to
breed superior stock from. Nearly all
representatives OF Glass 3, such as AL
thorp. Bird of Freedom. Trayles, Mer-
man. The White knight and, so for<h,
prove failures at the stud.
The supreme trials of the three-year-
olds in England have been organized
IN the following fashion:
!. For speed (a) the Guineds; distance
one mile; straight course on New
market Heath. (b) Newmarket
Stakes Distance ono. mile and "a
a quarter.
:. For speed and stamina the Derby
one mile and half over the difficult
EPSON course.
s. For stamina and speed; ST. Leger;
distance one mile and three quarters
on the Doncaster course.
1t is due to this perfect system that
the results of the classic races In Eng
land have proved the most reliable
pointers TO breeders. 1t has been
adopted In all European countries de-
voted to the cult of the noble horse with
the like result that the Derby winners
with the usual exceptions from the
rule) have proved the most reliable
stock for raising the STANDARD to a con-
stantly higher level
1t has happened, OF course, that the
best three-year-old was not entered for
the Derby-as in 1898. for instance
when Jeddah won the Derby, owing to
the absence of CylIene the easy wilmer
Of the Newmarket Stakes--in which
cases the racing form almost invariably
held good also for the class Of sucn
contemporaries as stock horses. Like
wise, Polymelus's racing form makes him
out to have been a better horse than
the three classic winners of 1905--ve-
dss, Cicero and Challacombe. Having
won the Cambridgeshire, Craven. Cham
pion, Princess of Wales. Duke Of York
Stakes he Is as typical representative
OF Class as his sire Cyllene.
1t strikes me that the racing authori-
ties of the United States have not yet
barking on q like organization OF the
most important trials. A Derby run over
q distance OF one mile and a quarter is
rot a. suitable contest for settling the
question of the best three-year-old of the
year from the viewpoint OF his later
calling as a sire.
1 contend that the forte OF horses Of
Class Is nervous strength of greater
efficiency than Its physical power. while
in Glass both these essential charac-
ters are nicely balanced. That may
explain why Class IS inferior
In breeding qualities to Class
:. An accumulation OF too much
nervous power must needs result in the
production Of headstrong horses, which
are so difficult to train. The essential
principle for constant amelioration of a
breed is the maintenance of its physical
standard. which IN. mo other races Is so
thoroughly tested as in the European
Derbies run over q distance of one mile
and half at top speed from the start to
the finish. owing TO the regular partici-
patton OF a number of the best repre-
sentatives Of Glass L.