THE THOROUGHBRED HOMES OF AUSTRALIA
By KEN AUSTIN
By KEN AUSTIN
By KEN AUSTIN
Thoroughbred horse breeding in New South Wales, or, in fact, in any of the Commonwealth States, has never been on a sounder or more satisfactory footing than it is at the present time. This happy position is more or less due to the policy of the principal Racing Clubs throughout Australia in so richly endowing their race programmes, and as there has been a steady advance in prize-money from year to year, so prices for Thoroughbred stock, and especially yearlings, may be expected to hold good for some time to come.
Nowadays a majority of the successful Thoroughbred Studs in the State have their home on the Hunter River or waters that run into it, and within a radius of about 100 miles, on the upper stretches of this famous district, most of the principal horse-breeding establishments are to be found. The Hunter, on account of its extreme richness and soundness is peculiarly adapted as a nursery for the Thoroughbred. The Hunter, which derives its name from Governor Hunter, during whose regime it was discovered, is one of the most important rivers of New South Wales. It rises in the Mount Royal Ranges and flows in an easterly direction past Muswellbrook and Denman. Three miles below the latter town its waters are increased by the Paterson, and it eventually empties itself into the sea at Newcastle. An extremely rich belt of country follows the banks of the Hunter from Singleton up to Aberdeen, and some miles beyond crosses to the Widden Mountain, and it is on these rich flats and reaches that most of the studs are situated.
One of the oldest studs in Australia—the far-famed Tocal—is the first to be met with after leaving Newcastle, and here the Reynolds’ Estate are still carrying on the stud which the late Mr. Frank Reynolds owned for so many years. No name is held in greater reverence among lovers of the Australian Thoroughbred than that of Frank Reynolds—a man whose heart and soul were centred in his horses and cattle, and who was in a great measure responsible for the adoption of the Bruce Lowe Figure System. Bruce Lowe and Frank Reynolds practically originated the system between them, and, up to the day of his death, Frank Reynolds was a hard and fast believer in the figures. One could write volumes on the Tocal Stud and its influence on the Australian racehorse, but space is limited in an article such as this. Tocal’s glory is at present somewhat diminished, so far as its Thoroughbred Stud goes, and it is now some seasons since a first-class horse has come from its paddocks. A new sire, in use for the first time this season, is the Amphion horse The Nut (imp.—an own brother to Lally), a very bloodlike individual who has met with a very fair measure of success as a winner getter. About four miles from the picturesque old Georgian homestead of Tocal is another Reynolds holding in Duninald, and here Mr. Sydney Reynolds has been breeding more than his share of winners for many years past. At the time of writing, two English horses—Prudent King (a son of Love Wisely) and Piedmont (a tail male descendant of Barcaldine)—are being used. The first-mentioned horse has sired a number of winners, and, in Cadonia, gave us a good-class Leger winner. Near Maitland Mr. John Hart keeps a small but select stud at Bolwarra, and at the present time has the imported sire Something Irish in use.
The next stud of importance to be met with is Wills Gully. It is situated about five miles from the town of Singleton, and here it is the coal magnate, Mr. John Brown, breeds on a lavish scale for his own racing. There are upwards of 200 mares at the stud, including a number of English importations, and a number of good winners have been bred at Wills Gully during recent years. Prince Foote, Duke Foote, Wallace Isinglass, Richmond Main and Prince Charles are names that suggest themselves, and their owner and breeder has generally a good horse running for him among the big string that F. J. Marsden trains for him at Randwick. Stallion honours at Wills Gully are shared by Duke Foote, Richmond Main and Wallace Isinglass, all three horses having been bred at this stud. The first-mentioned two are of Wisdom descent, and Richmond Main, who is a son of Prince Foote, the best horse ever bred at Wills Gully, takes up his stud duties for the first time this year. The Australian racehorse suffered a severe loss in the recent death of Prince Foote, a racehorse of the highest class and held in almost reverent affection by his owner.
Another breeder close to Singleton is Mr. Thomas Longworth, whose property, Dulwich, shelters the English horse Shadowland and a number of good mares. Shadowland is a half-brother by Dark Ronald to Troutbeck, and is, consequently, a member of the successful Agnes family.
Across the railway line from Wills Gully is the famous old Dangar holding, Neotsfield, held by that family since 1824. The present occupier, Mr. R. H. Dangar, has practically given up Thoroughbred horse breeding, having dispersed his fine stud in 1904. Many good performers first saw the light of day in the rich Neotsfield paddocks, such horses as Gibraltar, Sussex (of jumping fame), Mooltan and Poseidon all having been bred there. About 18 miles from Neotsfield, on the Cockfighter Creek, is the South Wambo Stud, the property of Mr. R. C. Allen. Here St. Simon is represented by his son Charlemagne II., a horse of beautiful quality, whose daughter Carlita may be counted among the ranks of the first class. Another St. Simon descendant in William the Silent is also here, and the South Wambo stallion ranks have just been added to by the arrival of the French-bred Francinet, a half-brother to the Ascot Cup winner, Willonyx, by Flying Fox’s son Ajax. Here, too, spending the evening of his life, is Antonio, a remarkably fast English horse who won good races for his Australian owner before going to the stud. There are some fifty mares at Wambo, and the stud sells a large number of yearlings each year at the Sydney sales.
The next stud of importance is Arrowfield, founded by Messrs. W. and F. A. Moses, who have been remarkably successful breeders. Any success that has gone to them is well deserved, for they have bought nothing but the best, and have kept up the high standard of their stud by regular importations from England. On these rich flats, in stallion state, is to be found Poitrel, one of the best stayers Australia has produced, and the winner of the V.R.C. Melbourne Cup, and practically all the principal weight-for-age races of his time.
Poitrel is now in his second season at the Stud, and has let down and developed into a magnificent horse, who may do big things in his new sphere. Two high-class English importations—Valais, by Cicero, and Roseworthy, by William the Third—are being used at Arrowfield; and the twenty-three-year-old St. Alwyne, a son of St. Frusquin, and a great sire of stayers, is also ending his days in happiness near his best son, Poitrel. The Arrowfield mares are a splendid collection, and the stud ranks as one of the most representative of Australia’s horse-breeding establishments.
The peerless Wakeful, a winner of over £16,000 in stakes, is among the mares at Arrowfield, and the way she carries her age is a good advertisement for the richness of the Arrowfield pastures. She is still the property of Mr. C. L. Macdonald, whose colours she made so famous.
Adjoining Arrowfield, with only a fence between the two properties, is Woodlands, originally owned by the late Mr. H. C. White, but now the property of Mr. E. G. Blume. The original old stone-built homestead is still in use, and the view from the flagged verandah across the Hunter to the hills beyond has to be seen to be appreciated. Shepherd King, a good-looking horse by Martagon, is at the head of the stud, and is ably seconded by Duke Humphrey, a half-brother by John O’Gaunt to the English One Thousand Guineas winner Vaucluse, and these English horses have as a mate Piastre, a Melbourne Cup hero, by imported Positano. Woodlands can boast of a fine collection of mares, and the property has been brought thoroughly up to date since coming into the hands of its present owner.
Several small studs are to be found in more or less close proximity to the town of Muswellbrook, 76 miles from Newcastle and some 12 miles away from Woodlands. Among these are Messrs. Jos. Brown’s and Walter Brunton’s properties. The former has the Desmond horse, imported Montecello, in use, while Mr. Brunton does not keep a stallion but sends his well-bred matrons to the best available. His colours are conspicuous at Randwick, and he is not only a breeder but regularly buys at the yearling sales.
One of the best-known Muswellbrook properties is Merton, from whose luxurious paddocks Mr. E. R. White bred so many winners. It is now owned by Mr. W. H. Mackay, junr., a son of the owner of Beauford, and who inherits the family’s love of the Thoroughbred and their knowledge of them. He is just starting to breed in a small but successful way. Martindale, owned by the polo-playing White Bros., is not far away, and shelters an English classic winner in Night Hawk, winner of the Leger. This hefty son of Gallinule looks like doing yeoman service in the near future for his owners.
Leaving Muswellbrook we reach one of the most famous fattening properties on the Hunter in the famous Turanville Estate, with its beautiful flats and willow trees, and, adjoining this, is Camyr Allen, where two of the younger generation of the famous family of horse-breeding Thompsons have settled. The stud is owned by Messrs. W. B. and C. L. Thompson, who have had great success at the yearling sales, and in the paddocks is Bob Cherry, the dam of Eurythmic, the largest stake winner in Australia. His sire, Eudorus, an imported son of Forfarshire, and another English importation in Buckwheat, by Martagon, are the stallions being used at the time of writing by the Thompsons. The Camyr Allen mares are a very representative lot, and, as a great proportion of them are daughters of Maltster, it is almost unnecessary to add they have produced, and are producing, a big percentage of winners. Maltster, whose fame as a stallion is almost too well-known to bear repetition, has gained undying fame through his daughters.
Camyr Allen is only a few miles out from Scone, on the other side of which prosperous town we find the Sledmere Stud, which has been quite recently established by Messrs. H. R. Denison and H. G. Raymond, the latter recently bringing on his return from England the successful sire Quantock, a son of Thrush. Since coming to Australia Quantock’s stock have been remarkably successful in England, and he looks to hold the ball of stud success at his feet. A well-chosen and select band of matrons are happily ensconced in the Sledmere paddocks, and if the young Quantocks bred there follow in the footsteps of their English relatives, the stud’s fortune is made.At Sledmere is Mr. Denison’s old favourite Poseidon, a winner of over £19,000, and although more or less of a stud failure, is being well cared for in his declining years by his grateful owner. D. S. and H. Hall are young breeders in the Scone district, who generally are represented at the Sydney sales by a good-class yearling or two, and, leaving their place at Cressfield, we approach one of the largest and most important studs on the Upper Hunter in Kiora, the property of Mr. Percy Miller. No breeder of recent years has gone more whole-heartedly into the breeding business—for business it is nowadays—than the owner of Magpie, Sarchedon and Demosthenes, all very high-class English importations. The first-named horse is by Dark Ronald, and in his last race in England was beaten by a neck by his stable companion Gay Crusader in the English Derby. Demosthenes, by Desmond, and a close relation to Sunstar, was brought from New Zealand, where he had been a great stud success, at a very high figure; while Sarchedon, the most recent addition to the stud, and incidentally one of the highest priced horses who have come this way, is a grey son of The Tetrarch, and was the most brilliant two-year-old of his year in England. There are certainly more high-priced mares at Kiora than in any other New South Wales stud, and it keeps growing in numbers from year to year. The property is part of the very famous Segenhoe Estate, and the Hunter divides it from the original Segenhoe Homestead block where Mr. William Brown bred many good ones.
Across the range from Segenhoe, in a very rich bend of the Hunter, is Kingsfield, owned by Messrs. J. E. and C. H. Brien, and three stallions live in luxurious ease here. Malt King, one of the most brilliant horses we have had of recent years, and the fastest horse Maltster sired, has been at Kingsfield since the inception of the stud, and he is kept company by Beragoon, an Australian-bred son of Multiform, and the recently imported St. Frusquin horse Rossendale. Beragoon was one of the finest two-year-olds produced here, and was a racehorse of the highest class, winning both the A.J.C. and V.R.C. Derbies, and is siring some useful winners.
Rossendale comes from England with sire honours thick upon him, and with the splendid chances Kingsfield will afford him he should do really well, for he is a splendid type of horse whose racing merit was of the highest order. The Kingsfield brood mares are second to none, the foundation stock being young English mares bought at a very high cost from the well-known English breeder J. B. Joel, and the additions made to the mares since have been wisely chosen with a very high regard for quality and a disregard for cost. Kingsfield is an ideal situation for a Thoroughbred Stud, the Hunter running right through the property, which consists of rich flats extending by gradual slopes up to limestone hills, which form an almost natural boundary fence to the property.
Retracing our steps again to Scone, we find above Sledmere, on the Kingdon Ponds, the brilliant Panacre, by imported Linacre, at the head of the Cliffdale Stud, formed last year by Mr. J. Campbell Wood, whose colours Panacre carried with such success. On this very rich and sound piece of country a select stud is being put together, and the young Panacres will shortly be trying to emulate the deeds of their speedy sire. On north from Cliffdale Sir Samuel Hordern’s Petwyn Vale lies, a small, attractive holding whose name has yet to be made. Let us hope the well-bred Englishman Emblematic, a son of Tracery, and a fine stamp of stallion, will rise to fame and breed some good winners for his sporting owner, whose success as a breeder has been small in comparison with his efforts. He has the horse, the mares and the country—that great essential—and the remaining one, luck, let us hope, may be lurking behind one of the corner posts. Still further north,near Quirindi, is the Werribon Stud, and here The Sybarite, a half-brother to the ill-fated Craganour, is located, with a number of well-bred mares.
Branching off the Northern Railway line at Werris Creek, well outside the Hunter District, and running inland towards the Queensland Border, is Mungie Bundie, where Messrs. B. and J. P. Burgess have lately taken over the stud run so successfully by Mr. John McDonald. Here, on very rich country, is a grandson of Carbine in Mountain King, a successful sire, and this year he has been joined by another colonial-bred horse in Kennaquhair, one of the finest individuals and gamest horses who ever looked through the proverbial bridle.
Mr. D. Livingston, whose property, Boolaroo, is also in the Moree District, has recently joined the ranks of yearling breeders, and he has made an auspicious start by securing the imported Polymelus horse My Poppo, who is siring good winners. The Yetman Stud, owned by Mr. G. W. Dight, is farther north again, being practically on the Queensland Border. The well-bred importation Chipilly, a son of Spearmint, and that great mare Pretty Polly, is at the head of affairs at Yetman, and should help to strengthen the house of Carbine in Australia.
Back to Scone once more, and striking out across country towards the Widden Mountain in the direction of Mudgee, we find a belt of country which has no superior in Australia as a Thoroughbred nursery. Here is the home of a famous family of horse-breeders, the Thompsons, and it was here such famous stallions of the past as Lochiel, Grafton, Ayr Laddie and Maltster all earned their undying crown of fame. Widden is now owned by Messrs. A. W. and A. E. Thompson, and they, with their cousins, the Thompson Bros., of which firm Herbert is the head, have been wonderfully successful horse-breeders. Widden and Oakleigh are beautiful bits of country, and the excellence of their paddocks has contributed a great deal to the success of the numerous horses reared there. Herbert Thompson and his brother can lay claim to be the largest breeders of the Thoroughbred in the world to-day, and last year they sent down to the Sydney sales no less than seventy yearlings, all of whom sold remarkably well. At Widden the premier stallion of New South Wales, in Linacre, a well-performed son of Wolf’s Crag, shares the honours of the stud with the French-bred Kenilworth, a staying descendant of St. Simon. Both these stallions have been remarkably consistent as winner-getters, and if the grey Chrysolaus, the most recent addition to the stallion strength, meets with the same success, his dual owners, the Thompson Bros., and their cousins A. W. and A. E., will have no reason to regret having spent 3,600 guineas in acquiring him. The Widden and Oakleigh mares are a wonderful lot, and are kept up to a very high standard by the retention of the best fillies bred at the stud. In an article of this description it is impossible to write of individual mares, for reference to the good producers owned by the Thompsons would fill many large sized volumes. At Oakleigh are the English stallions Gadabout, by St. Denis, Sir Dighton, by Bayardo, and Cooltrim, by Flying Fox, and the Australian-bred Greenstead, by The Welkin (imp.). The stud suffered a severe loss recently by the death of imported Tressady, a successful son of Persimmon.
Another Thompson holding is Canema, where Baverstock, a son of Maltster, and Wakeful, is siring winners, his son David ranking as one of the best stayers racing in Australia at the present time. Eaton Lad, by Orvieto, sires his share of useful horses at Holbrook, near Widden, for his owner, T. A. Harris. Leaving Widden behind us, and traversing the Bylong Valley, long famous for the production of good cattle and horses, we get within close callof Mudgee. Some ten miles before you reach this veritable lucerne oasis Havilah appears in its picturesque frame of hills, and here some good performers have been and are being bred. The property is now owned by Hunter White, a member of one of the best-known pastoral families in Australia, and a nephew of the late James White, a counter-type of the famous Admiral Rous. Three, a very highly bred son of The Welkin, is the hope of the Havilah Stud at the present time, and he is a splendid individual who looks like getting good stock. Mr. Hunter White not only breeds on a large scale, but is a staunch supporter of the N.S.W. Turf, and no colours are more popular than the red jacket and white Maltese cross of their non-betting owner.
On the other side of Mudgee Mr. D. U. Seaton has Eurunderee, where his brilliant racehorse Wolaroi is embarking on his stud career. Wolaroi, by Kenilworth, was bred and raced by his owner, and few more brilliant horses have carried silk of recent years. Another good performer, in the Bright Steel horse Westcourt, a Melbourne Cup hero, is at Eurunderee, and the stud has a nice collection of English and colonial-bred mares.
Farther out from Eurunderee is the old-established stud Biraganbil, owned for years by the Rouse family, and the present owners, Messrs. L. G. and H. C. Rouse are keeping up the family’s long connection with the Thoroughbred. A beautifully bred son of Chaucer, in imported Allegory, holds sway at Biraganbil, and, if judicious mating will mean success, the horse has got into the right stud. It is almost needless to say that L. G. Rouse is identical with the keeper of the Australian Stud Book, and there is no sounder judge of pedigree in the Southern Hemisphere. He has done splendid work in his official capacity, not only as regards the Stud Book, but also as a Racing Steward, etc., and our Thoroughbred breeders are under a debt of gratitude to him, and Mr. Archie Yuille, of Melbourne, for their efforts in recording reliable breeding records whose value cannot be over-estimated.
Dunlop, near Merriwa, is a stud of fairly recent origin, Mr. T. A. Stirton having established his splendid horse Cetigne, by Grafton (imp.), there, as well as the flying Biplane, by Comedy King (imp.), a dual Derby winner and one of the fastest horses of his day.
Another Western Stud, situated near Wellington, on the banks of the Macquarie, some 80 miles from Mudgee, is that of Mr. Harry Taylor, a successful breeder. A recent purchase is the New Zealand-bred Humbug, a great, strapping son of Absurd, and a fine performer in the land of the Moa. He also owns a fine son of The Welkin in Trillion, and some very high-class mares. Mr. E. J. Watt, whose dark-blue jacket is familiar to most racegoers in most parts of Australia, has the Boomey Stud near Molong, an important station on the branch line from Orange to the Lachlan and not far from Wellington. A horse of his own breeding in Pershore, a son of All Black (imp.), is at Boomey, and he will not want for opportunity among the mares he is being mated with.
Near Cowra, a flourishing Western town, is Alfalfa, owned by the Payten Bros., sons of the successful trainer, Tom Payten, who saddled so many good winners for the Hon. James White. The colonial-bred Popinjay, a brilliant son of Maltster, has done yeoman service for his youthful owners since being given to them by the present Chief Justice of Australia, Sir Adrian Knox, whose colours he carried with distinction.
Here, too, in the rich Lachlan country, Mr. I. J. Sloan breeds a number of good horses, and the latest addition to his stud in the English horse CylleneMore should materially increase the record of winners turned out from the North Logan Paddocks. Cyllene More, as his name implies, is a son of the great Cyllene, and his dam is the well-performed St. Maura.
Another star in the Western breeders’ firmament is Mr. E. A. Haley, whose stud is not far from the celebrated Leeholme, where the great mare Etraweenie and her daughters bred so many good horses for the late Hon. George Lee. At Tekoona, near Bathurst, Mr. Haley has a real English aristocrat in Redfern, by St. Denis. This well-performed horse will be represented in the yearling sale ring of 1923 for the first time, and if Redfern’s progeny inherit their sire’s speed all will be well for the Tekoona Stud. Redfern was imported at a high cost by Sir William Cooper, Bart., who raced Trenton and other good horses, and whose colours were very popular with the Australian racing public.
Another Bathurst studmaster is Mr. John Lee, whose family bears a name famous in Australian turf and stud history. He is justly proud of a fine son of The Welkin in Wedge, the last horse to carry Mr. John Turnbull’s respected and popular colours, and who is just embarking on his stud life.
An enthusiastic breeder in Mr. C. S. Macphillamy is happily located at Warroo, near Forbes, on the Lachlan, whose peaceful waters, usually teeming with bird and fish life, flow on through the property. Good winners in the past have first seen the light of day in the rich river frontages of Warroo, and a recently acquired English horse in Polydor, by Polymelus, should sire many more there.
The Southern Districts of New South Wales breed many good horses, and the Messrs. G. and H. Main have turned out their share of winners since starting breeding at their Retreat Stud, near Illabo. William Allison, the renowned “Special Commissioner” of the London “Sportsman,” made no mistake in sending out to them the good-looking sire, Limelight, and some beautifully bred English mares, for in his first stud season Limelight was successful in siring the brilliant dual Derby winner Salitros.
At Wagga, one of the oldest racing centres of the State, Mr. J. J. McGrath and his sons have their Wattle Vale property, and this year a recent purchase in the New Zealand-bred Egypt, an own brother to the famous mare, Desert Gold, will be used the first time by them.
One of the most recently formed Southern Studs is Curraburrama, near Young, owned by Mr. A. P. Wade, whose transactions in matters pertaining to the pastoral industry generally have been on a very large scale during recent years. He has established at the head of his Thoroughbred stud a good-looking and well-bred stallion in Colugo, by The Welkin (imp.), who will not want for opportunity. Mr. Wade does not do things by halves and is giving Colugo a great chance with some splendid mares at the outset of his career.
The rich, sound lands of the Upper Murray are ideal pastures for the production of big-boned, sound horses, and here at Towong Hill, just across the river on the Victorian side, stands a turf idol of yesterday in splendid Trafalgar, the well-beloved of the Randwick and Flemington crowds. Had his owner, the late Mr. Walter Mitchell, lived, Trafalgar’s stud chances would have been greater than they now are.
Messrs. Leitch, A. E. Tyson, A. S. O’Keefe, etc., are all breeders who contribute their quota to the number of good horses the South produces. Mr. A. S. O’Keefe had in imported Bright Steel a very noble son of St. Simon, whose memory will be kept alive by Westcourt, Chrome, Scarlet and others.
Thoroughbreds also find a place on the Northern Rivers, and the old-established studs of Gordon Brook and Dyraaba, near Casino, have turnedout their share of winners. The first-named property no longer goes in for thoroughbred breeding, but Mr. H. S. Barnes has a very elegant son of Bridge of Canny in the imported horse Canzone at Dyraaba as well as another English-bred horse in Repartee, by Melton, and is breeding some very useful horses.
Of the studs near Sydney, the famous old Hobartville comes easily first; a beautiful old home surrounded by the most magnificent trees and situated just outside the historic town of Richmond. Now owned by Mr. Percy Reynolds, it still keeps up its reputation for producing high-class winners, and in his English stallions Bernard, a son of Robert le Diable, and Bardolph, by Bay Ronald, Mr. Reynolds has two most valuable sires whose progeny for the most part know how to stay. Here it was that the Ascot Gold Cup winner Merman first saw the light of day, as well as the countless good horses bred by Andrew Town, Messrs. Long and Hill, and other breeders who owned the property in bygone times.
Another historic property not far from Sydney is the Camden Park Estate, owned by the Macarthur Onslow family, whose ancestor, Captain Macarthur, brought out the first Merino sheep to Australia. A beautifully bred horse in imported Polycrates, by Polymelus, is in use at Camden Park, as well as another importation in the Desmond horse Flying King.
This about completes the itinerary of the Thoroughbred Homes of New South Wales, and most of these mentioned send drafts of yearlings regularly to the Sydney sales held every Easter at Randwick by the bloodstock firms of Messrs. H. Chisholm and Co. and William Inglis and Son. About 500 yearlings are offered each year, and most of the breeders get a satisfactory return. In 1920, 572 yearlings realized £107,233, averaging £187/15/-; in 1921, 512 brought £104,891, averaging slightly over £204; while last year the 524 sold aggregated £101,669, averaging £194. The sales have grown steadily in importance each year, and buyers attend from all parts of Australia and New Zealand to satisfy their wants. The possibility of buying an embryo Breeders’ Plate or Derby winner cheaply is the magnet which lures the bids from the buyers at the ringsides. There is a fascination in buying a yearling which does not enter into the purchase of a horse whose galloping powers have been tested, and nearly every buyer at the sales thinks, until disillusioned, that he has the winner of the next Derby in his newly acquired equine baby. When one pauses to consider that the average number of runners in a Derby field is about ten, it will be seen what disappointments the yearling lucky dip holds. It is good that racing men, one and all, are more or less always cheerfully optimistic, and the compensation of a yearling purchase turning out well makes up for a lot of disappointments.
Victoria has, after many years of stagnation, taken on a new lease of life as a stud centre, and, with such successful stallions as Comedy King, The Welkin and Woorak, all located south of the Murray, New South Wales will have to look to her laurels.
The valley of the Goulburn has become the happy hunting-ground of the Victorian breeder, and mostly all the principal studs are now located in this rich strip of country, which extends from Seymour along the banks of the river for many miles.
At Wahring, about 87 miles distant from Melbourne, Mr. Norman Falkiner has established his Noorilim Stud, whose rich and highly improved paddocks shelter the best collection of mares owned by any one man in Australia. Here, too, is that most perfect horse Comedy King (imp.), a splendid son of Persimmon, and one of the outstanding stud successes ofto-day. He is a most versatile sire, producing as he does sprinters, stayers, Cup and Grand National winners. With Comedy King at Noorilim is the imported Spearmint horse Spearhead, a highly bred young English horse who is just starting his stud life.
Some ten miles away on the Melbourne side is Chatsworth Park, where the Redfearn family bred many good horses in days gone by. The V.R.C. Chairman, Mr. L. K. S. McKinnon, on Woorak’s retirement from the turf, established him at Chatsworth at the head of a very select lot of mares, but dispersed the stud in 1921. Chatsworth is now owned by Mr. Hildyard, who is gradually establishing a stud there with the imported Quæstor, by Cicero, at the head of it. The hunting enthusiast, Mr. A. T. Creswick, whose years sit lightly on him and who yet takes tea with the best of them over the stiff post and rail fences the Melbourne Hounds hunt over, has a nice property at Negambie. Here, at the Nook Stud, is All Black, an imported son of Gallinule, and whose daughter Desert Gold is one of the best of the Australasian Turf’s fair sex. White Star, an own brother to the English Derby winner Sunstar, is also at The Nook with a wonderfully choice collection of mares, who are bound to produce more than their share of winners. Not far away Mr. Winter Irving keeps some half-dozen very select mares, and he has already added to the valley’s reputation by breeding good horses.
This year death removed Mr. J. V. Smith, a familiar figure from the horse-breeding world of Victoria; he has left his sons to carry on his breeding operations. Only recently the stud was moved from Bundoora, where it had been for many years, to Kuarangi, a rich valley property near Dhurringle. Wallace, who was at Bundoora for several seasons, was undoubtedly the best horse Carbine left behind him in Australia, and the Messrs. Smith are happy in the possession of a number of well-bred mares by him. The stallion now in use is Ethopiam (imp.), a son of Dark Ronald, and this year will be his first at the stud. Toolamba is another valley stud of recent origin, owned by Dr. S. A. Syme. He has a prospective stud success here in imported Lanius, a very well performed and staying son of Llangibby, whose progeny are just starting to race this season. The New Zealand-bred Broadsword is also at Toolamba, and siring useful horses.
All the successful Victorian studs are not to be found in the fertile Goulburn pastures, for one of the most famous of them is situated some 20 miles the other side of Melbourne. This is Mr. E. E. D. Clarke’s property, Melton, which he keeps almost entirely as a private stud, only selling a few yearlings each year at the sales. Melton shelters that wonderful horse The Welkin, one of the most successful stallions ever imported to the colonies. Another importation is Cyklon, by Spearmint, who was bought by Mr. Clarke quite recently. This year Melton has achieved something in the way of a double-barrelled record, for The Welkin is at the head of the Winning Sires’ List, while Mr. Ernest Clarke tops the names of the Winning Owners of Australia.
Other Victorian breeders, in Messrs. Philip Russell, Major Alan Currie and the Hon. Agar Wynne, have all established studs on the Western Plains of Victoria, and are breeding their share of winners; while Messrs. F. W. Norman, D. J. Bourke, H. F. Creswick, A. S. Chirnside are also doing their bit in the production of the Victorian Thoroughbred.
Most of the breeders above named send drafts of yearlings annually to the sales held in Melbourne during March by Messrs. W. C. Yuille & Co. and Messrs. Adamson, Strettle & Co. The number of yearlings sold by the two firms falls a long way short of the number offered in Sydney, but they are remarkably successful.
South Australia does not produce a great number of Thoroughbreds, but quality is very much in evidence in the yearling drafts which are annually sold in Victoria by Messrs. J. H. Aldridge and R. M. Hawker. Richmond Park, owned by the Aldridges, has been famous as a Thoroughbred nursery for many years, and has been remarkably successful in insistently producing good winners. The sires now in use are Pistol, by Carbine, imported some years ago; St. Anton, by St. Frusquin; and Lucknow, by Minoru. Mr. L. F. Aldridge, who manages Richmond Park, is a practical enthusiast who leaves nothing to chance. Mr. R. M. Hawker comes of a South Australian family famous as sheep breeders, but he has shown that he can breed Thoroughbreds equally as well, and his young Cyklons are proving themselves on the racecourse.
Western Australia for years barely attempted to produce the home-grown article in the Thoroughbred, but recently Messrs. P. A. Connelly, D. Grant and others have started breeding with success, and with others following their example the West should more than hold their own against horses bred in the other States.
The Thoroughbred studs of Queensland are more or less confined to a very rich tract of country known as the Darling Downs, situated within easy reach of the New South Wales border. Here Mr. C. E. McDougall has that fine property Lyndhurst, where he has been breeding winners for many years. Lyndhurst has been particularly fortunate in its stallions, for Ladurlad (imp.), Syce (imp.) and Seremond (imp.) have all been stud successes, Syce in particular being a really great sire. Another English importation in Chantemerle, by Polymelus, is now at Lyndhurst in company with Seremond; and the stud sends drafts of yearlings annually to the Sydney sales, where they sell exceptionally well. Mr. J. H. S. Barnes, a member of a well-known New South Wales family of horse-breeders and pastoralists, recently bought the Canning Downs property near Warwick, on the Darling Downs, and has imported Highfield, by William the Third, at the head of his stud of select mares established there. Other well-known Queensland breeders in Messrs. M. Ryan and W. Glasson are producing winners, and the future of the Thoroughbred in the Northern State seems brighter than it has been for many years.
Thoroughbred horse breeding seems to be on the increase in nearly all the States, and though the modern Australian Thoroughbred may not be as tough an animal as his early progenitors, or possess their staying powers, he is, taken all round, a sounder horse than is produced in any other part of the world to-day. The few horses that have been sent to England from Australia have more than held their own both on the racecourses and at the stud, and it is to be hoped that the demand from home for the good staying Waler will be revived.