By A. L. Robertson – (source: South African Bloodstock Breeders’ Review 1951 – published from 1945 to 1954)
When I agreed to the Editor’s invitation to contribute an article to this year’s Review, I thought it might be of interest to readers to know that over the years a number of horses have found their way to South Africa who have distinguished themselves in the lands of their birth and in several cases figure in the pedigrees of great winners all over the world.
It is of these horses I propose writing and thereby perhaps adding something to the rather meagre historical record of the Thoroughbred in South Africa. Actually, the first Thoroughbred importations to this country came from England in 1792, three years before the Cape was surrendered to the British.
The shipment consisted of four stallions Mambrino, Hercules, Paul Jones and Millet, and four mares, only two of which were thoroughbred and known as Miss Aletta and The Crop mare. The importer of these horses was Mr. J. F. Kirsten whose wife was the widow of Marthinus Melck and the founder of the Melck Stud which for a very long time was among the most successful in the country, and though the studs have not been carried on, it is pleasant to relate that racing still commands the interest of at least one member of this old Cape family, Mr. Martin Melck who is one of the Stewards of the progressive Milnerton Turf Club.
Thus, has the turf maintained its connection with the founder of the racehorse in South Africa, for this shipment of imported horses arrived five years prior to the first race meeting at the Cape. The first distinguished horse that I can trace which came to South Africa, was Student, foaled in 1863. He was by Oxford out of Blanche of Middelebee by Melbourne and was rated as the best two-year-old of his year.
He won the Chesterfield Stakes at Newmarket and at Goodwood won the Molecomb Stakes, the Findon Stakes and the Bentinck Memorial Stakes, and the next year his only start was in the Two Thousand Guineas at Newmarket for which he started favourite, but broke down in the race and never ran again.
It is obvious that Student must have been a very good horse. He was imported to South Africa by Mr. J. A. van der Byl of Nachtwacht and later stood at the Halesowen Stud of Mr. H. Hilton Barber in the Cradock district. He sired winners but at that time distinction at stud was not easily attained and records are incomplete.
The next good horse to attract attention is Bismarck who was foaled in 1864 and was by Weatherbit out of the great foundation mare, Miss Agnes, who founded the famous Agnes family from which such as Bahram, Sir Galahad Ill, Ormonde, Sceptre and many other great equines descend.
On the turf Bismarck was a good if somewhat unlucky horse. He was third in the Lincoln Handicap as an early three-year- old and ran second to the Oaks winner Hippia at Newmarket and dead-heated with Speculum, a horse who attained to great eminence, at Doncaster and was weighted at 8st 91bs in the Stewards Cup at Goodwood, an indication of his official rating.
He was imported by Mr. Alexander van der Byl and sired many winners and survived in South African pedigrees until very recently and there are still, no doubt, animals carrying his blood in their veins.
The last one I can trace in our Stud Book, is the mare Magic Wind by Acragas out of Sorcery, who actually traces back to a mare called Miss Whipthong, one of those imported by Lord Charles Somerset somewhere about 1815. I have seen descendants of this mare over a hundred years later and can testify that physically they had not deteriorated in the least.
ONE OF THE GREATEST EVER
About 1871 there came to South Africa, imported by Mr. Alexander van der Byl, one of the greatest thoroughbreds ever imported. This was Belladrum, a son of “The Emperor of Stallions,” Stockwell, and the Oaks winner Catherine Hayes by Lanercost. Belladrum was foaled in 1866 and as a two-year-old ranked as the best of his year, his wins including such important juvenile events as the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom, the New Stakes at Ascot, the Ham Stakes at Goodwood, as well as the Molecomb Stakes and the Bentinck Memorial at the same venue.
He was then second in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster in which Morna bested him by a head, and then followed five consecutive wins at Newmarket. In Edward Moorhouse’s “The Romance of the Derby,” he goes on to say of the great Epsom event of 1869: “There can be little doubt that Belladrum was the best of his year, but unfortunately in the autumn of 1868 there were unmistakable indications that he was affected with a wind infirmity. In the hope of effecting an improvement, if not an absolute cure, the colt was “fired” in the throat; but the treatment availed nothing, and early the following year Waugh realised that Belladrum‘s days of usefulness were practically over.
At first an effort was made to keep the matter a secret, but the truth eventually leaked out, and several bookmakers laid fearlessly against the colt, both for the Two Thousand Guineas and the Derby. Great therefore was their astonishment, and intense their anxiety, when they saw, in the race for the Guineas, the roaring Belladrum take up the running after passing the Bushes.
Pretender ranged up alongside him in the Dip, and up the hill to the winning post the contest was reduced to a match between the pair. After a hard and strenuous struggle, Pretender won by half a length.
Apparently, therefore, Belladrum was not the “back number” he was supposed to be. Indeed, James declared he would have beaten pretender if his jockey, Kenyon, had obeyed orders and ridden a waiting race.
After this great performance the bookmakers took no further liberties with Belladrum who started favourite for the Derby at 6 to 1. After a great race Pretender got home short head in front of Pero Gomez with Belladrum who was gasping for breath after covering a mile, finishing in the ruck.
Belladrum ran a more few times but by now his wind infirmity affected him badly. He had a short stud career in England and while there, he sired the filly Ballyroe, who attained to great fame as the darn of unbeaten Barcaldine, one of the greatest of thoroughbreds and the founder of great line which reaches us today through another unbeaten horse Hurry On, who sired three Derby winners in six years. They were Captain Cuttle, Call Boy and Coronach, the last named the sire of Montrose who has written his name and fame so indelibly on our racing records.
Like most of these early importations Belladrum got some winners and was last heard of in the possession of a Mr. H. Smit in the Rouxville district of the O.F.S. I know of none of his South African born descendants who are alive at the present time.
MOORFOOT
A sire who got his share of winners about fifty years ago, was Moorfoot, a son of the Derby winner Thormanby and Blue Bell, by Heron. He flashed into great if undeserved prominence in 1878 when known as Bonnie Scotland.
Before he had done anything to deserve it on the turf he was terrifically boomed and was purchased by Lord Rosebery, the father of the present Earl, and grandfather of the enthusiastic Lady Helen Smith, a well-known figure on our racecourses. Lord Rosebery paid the then big price of 6,000 guineas plus contingencies for Bonnie Scotland who at 4 to 1 was second favourite for the Derby, the favourite being the fractionally shorter Insulaire at 100 to 30.
The race was won by Sefton with Bonnie Scotland fading out soon after rounding Tattenham Corner. Lord Rosebery no doubt thought his horse unworthy of the name he carried so he changed it to Moorfoot, the name by which this horse was known in South Africa where he belonged to a Mr. Distin.
Another horse owned by Lord Rosebery who came to South Africa, was Viscounti, foaled in 1876 and got by Parmesan out of Lady Audley by Wild Dayrell. Visconti’s chief claim to Fame was his third a length behind Palmbearer who in turn was beaten three parts of a length by Sir Bevys on whom George Fordham rode his one and only Derby winner.
Visconti was raced in South Africa and won a Merchants Handicap in the early days of Kimberley. He stood at stud somewhere in the Orange Free State but did nothing to perpetuate what little fame came his way.
A better horse was Elf King, foaled in 1876 and got by Joskin out of Queen Mab, by Lambton, who was imported by Mr. D. J. J. Oosthuizen to stand at the Vlakfontein Stud in the Colesberg district, where his great grandson is carrying on the stud.
Elf King won the Stewards Cup at Goodwood and made a considerable name for himself as a sire, but like those who went before him, his blood does not survive. At the same time that he had Elf King Mr. Oosthuizen imported The Monk, an own brother to the good horse Holy Friar and to Freia, the ancestress of Bruleur whose name figures prominently in so many great French horses’ pedigrees.
The Monk won nothing of great consequence but did run second to the flying filly Lady Golightly in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster and filled the same position in the Free Handicap at Newmarket and in the Stewards Cup at Goodwood.
At stud he sired the South African Derby winner Rosary, who won that event at Port Elizabeth then the headquarters of the South African Turf.
Roysterer, by the Derby winner Cremorne out of the great Caller Ou who won no less than 49 races including the St. Leger, was foaled in 1878 and imported to the Cape by Messrs. Hofmeyr and Faure, the former bearing the familiar initials of “J.H.” As a racehorse Roysterer was above the average and won the City and Suburban Handicap at Epsom.
His half-sister The Pearl, bred Three Pearls, the dam of Pearl Diver who carried all before him as a sire at the beginning of the present century and whose name figures in many present day winners’ pedigrees.
Well bred, if otherwise undistinguished horses imported about this time, were Glastonbury, brought out by Mr. Duncan Mackenzie for his stud in Natal where the family are still in evidence and interested in thoroughbreds. He was by Stockwell’s brother Rataplan out of the great mare Lady Alice Hawthorn, from whom are descended the Derby winners Sir Visto and Coronach, as well as Bona Vista the sire of Cyllene, the big winner Velasquez and a host of others, including our own outstanding mare Dignity and her distinguished son Dignitary.
Catalpa, an own brother to the One Thousand Guineas and Oaks winner Camelia, stood at Mr. F. J. van Zyl’s Buffels Vlei Stud near Colesberg, where once more some thoroughbreds are being reared. He was by the Derby winner Macaroni out of Araucaria, a half-sister to Stockwell, Rataplan and King Tom and herself the dam of Camelia, winner of the One Thousand Guineas and Oaks, Chamant, winner of the Two Thousand Guineas, and Rayon d’Or, winner of the St. Leger.
The blood of Catalpa, like that of Bismarck, still survives through the mare Sorcery whose second dam Armida was by Catalpa out of a daughter of Bismarck.
Sportsman, by Adventurer out of Sporting Life, who stood at the Culmstock Stud of Mr. Charles Southey where his grandson Mr. Tommy Southey carries on the fame of this great stud, was a good stayer who won the Newmarket St. Leger and the Edinburgh Gold Cup and sired many winners in this country.
CANDLEMAS THE GREAT
We now come to a horse who has strong claims to be considered one of the very best ever imported. I refer to Candlemas, an own brother to the Derby winner St. Blaise, who was brought out by Mr. Len Homan. In England as a three-year-old he won the Epsom Grand Prize (now known as the Coronation Cup) and also ran second to the great horse Bendigo in the first Eclipse Stakes and the first ten thousand pounder decided in England.
The merit of this performance was enhanced by the fact that the Derby winner St. Gatien, was third. He also ran second in the Doncaster Stakes and Melton relegated him to third place in the Liverpool Autumn Cup. He became affected in his wind but even with this disability was third in Ascot’s Royal Hunt Cup.
In South Africa he was the outstanding racehorse of his day and carried welter weights with distinction. He was retired to my father’s (Mr. Alex Robertson’s) Stormfontein Stud in the Colesberg district where I am writing this and made an immediate hit by siring Lammas, the best South African bred horse of his time.
By then his brother St. Blaise, had made a big name as a sire and Candlemas was sold to go to the United States where he was very successful and rose to second place in their sires’ list. Among his best sons was Irish Lad, who sired Shannon, a great racehorse, and the filly Banshee, the dam of the French classic winner Durban, who bred Tourbillon, one of the greatest sires of any age and the foundation of M. Marcel Boussac’s great racing fortunes.
Another good horse who has Candlemas blood in his veins, is Slip Knot who won a Johannesburg Summer Handicap and other good races. Candlemas‘ successor at the Stormfontein Stud was my horse Benvenuto, who, like Candlemas, won the Epsom Grand Prize and again like him was sold to go to the United States where did quite well as a sire.
In Natal Mr. Oliff got out a good horse in Savile, a son of the great sire Hampton and the big winner Lillian. In England he won a Goodwood Cup after first deadheating with St. Michael, a very strenuous effort. In South Africa he proved a great horse and at stud sired the South African Derby winner Gay Hampton.
Another famous horse to do stud duty in South Africa was Skylark by King Tom out of Wheatear, by Young Melbourne, who stood at Mr. Hilton Barber’s famous Culmstock Stud just south of Cradock, was a very good racehorse and won the Newmarket Derby, the Prince of Wales Stakes, the Ascot Gold Vase and the York Cup and was described as “The finest horse in all respects ever imported into the Colony.” He left behind him in England a daughter called Warble, who bred a filly called Maid of the Mint who, mated with the Australian champion Carbine, bred a colt who gained great distinction under the name of Spearmint, the winner of the Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris and sire himself of the Derby winner Spion Kop who in turn sired the Derby winner Felstead, so, much of Skylark‘s blood has returned to South Africa.
CONSISTENT PERFORMER
Though he hardly qualifies by deeds in England, I feel I must mention Pearl Diver, a son of Master Kildare and Three Pearls, by Rosicrucian. He was a consistent performer in England where he won the Great Eastern Railway Handicap and was a meritorious second to Gay Hampton in the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot in which Candlemas filled third place.
He came to South Africa and stood at Mr. Charles Southey’s famous Culmstock Stud and proved an outstanding success. He sired six consecutive winners of the South African Derby in Verdant Green, Green Sea, Wild Plunger, Ocean Gem, Peerless and Camp Fire, who later went to England where the numerals were tacked on.
Pearl Diver‘s daughters were outstandingly successful brood mares and the late Mr. Henry Nourse founded his famous Dwarsvlei Stud on the fillies he owned by him. His blood lives on and is found in the pedigrees of some of our good horses. No sire ever dominated the position like Pearl Diver, but it is only fair to say that competition in his day was nothing like as severe as it is today.
At that time there were not more than six thoroughbred studs that really counted, but even so Pearl Diver got some real good ones and his son Camp Fire II earned great fame as a sprinter in England, where another son, Pearl Rover, was the first South African bred horse to win. Since then Gambut made it three.
When I was a small boy, I remember returning from England on the Mail Ship “Mexican” and on board a horse my father had bought for Stormfontein Stud, the rather evil tempered Nunthorpe, by Camballo out of Matilda by Beauclerc.
He was a top-class handicapper and won the City and Suburban at Epsom and the Great Jubilee Stakes at Kempton with 9 stone and also won a Brighton Cup with 10 st 13 lbs. He was also second to Meg, trying to concede her 34 lbs in the Ascot Gold Vase. After buying him my father found out why he was sold. He was a very bad foal getter and in two stud seasons in England had sired only about eight foals, but among them were two fillies who great on the turf and at stud.
One of them was Nunsuch, won the Old Carnbridgeshire and at stud bred Prim Sun, the dam of Friar Marcus, the maternal grandsire of Dastur and other good ones. The other daughter, Emotion, was one of the best of her year and won the Fern Hill Stakes at Ascot among other races and at stud produced Bella Vista who gained fame as the dam of the Derby winner, Captain Cuttle, and the good French sire Tom Pinch.
Nunthorpe‘s blood thus lives on all over the racing world. In South Africa he got a very limited number of foals, but their class was evident by the fact that he finished second to the all-conquering Pearl Diver in the later years of the Anglo-Boer War. When that unfortunate episode was over he was he was sold back to England, but by then he was almost sterile and got only a very few foals before he was mercifully destroyed. I remember Nunthorpe as a very grand massive type of thorough- bred.
Just after the Anglo-Boer War there came to South Africa a horse who came nearer to winning the Derby than any other this country has seen. Reference is made to Damocles, a smallish chestnut son of Suspender and Revelry by Peter, who took second place behind the mighty Flying Fox in the Derby of 1899. He stood at Mr. E. R. Ruperti’s stud in the Western Province and got good galloping stock, as I think Mr. Willie will testify.
He appears in some present-day pedigrees, including that of Thoroughbred, the dam of the South African Derby winner Mussoulini, on whose human namesake the sword of Damocles verily descended.
LUCKY SURVIVAL
In the years immediately after the Anglo-Boer War a number of thoroughbreds were imported from Australia, New Zealand and South America. I don’t think any of the Australian importations were very distinguished in their own country, though without books of reference, it is difficult to be sure.
About the best of the Australian importations was that grand horse Chesney, by Malua out of Madcap, an own brother to the more famous Malvolio. On his way from Australia to England, Chesney was wrecked off the Cape when the S.S. “Thermopylae” went down.
The horse was freed to take his chance and actually got ashore and later on continued his voyage to England. There he raced a few times without success and was then brought to South Africa by Sir Abe Bailey and proved himself a very good racehorse before he passed into the possession of Mr. Henry Nourse, for whom he did useful if not very distinguished stud service.
A distinguished New Zealander was Uniform, an own brother to the great Multiform, by Hotchkiss out of Formos In his native land he was the undisputable best of his year, winning the New Zealand Derby as well as the Otago, St. Andrew’s and Wellington Cups before being sold to the famous English stage beauty Lily Langley, who took him to England where he won the Lewes Handicap. He then came to South Africa and stood at Mr. Alex Robertson’s Stormfontein Stud and proved a successful sire, heading our list of winning sires in 1908-9.
From the Argentine there came a number of horses who won big races in this country, among them Charcot, who later distinguished himself in England; Bonnie Dundee, Pilcomayo, Chinois, Ramenti and others, mostly imported by Mr. Jim Piccione.
Among his Argentinian importations was the grey horse Pippermint by St. Mirin out of Mostaza, who I think I am right in saying was undefeated in his own country and a winner of the Argentine Derby. Naturally the handicappers took good care of this grey champion and though he ran some very meritorious places, he failed to win a race in South Africa and was repatriated to the South American Republic to become a very successful sire there.
We have also had some horses from the United States, but nothing that distinguished itself there. Perhaps the best was Gondolier, a son of Watercress and La Venganza, who did good service for Sir George Farrar. Another good horse from the States was the Durban July Handicap winner Silver Spear Il by Sickle out of Stephanie, who however, raced in England before coming here.
MR. HENRY NOURSE
About the time with which we are dealing Mr. Henry Nourse bought from the Duke of Portland the three-year- old colt Greatorex, by the Australian champion Carbine from the Oaks winner Mrs. Butterwick by St. Simon. As a juvenile Greatorex was in the top-flight. He won the Hurst Park Foal Plate and Champion Breeders Plate, and in the Middle Park Stakes he split Flotsam and Rock Sand, who the next year ran first and second in the Derby, only in reverse order.
Greatorex was greatly fancied for the great Epsom Classic, but like so many good horses who have come to South Africa, he became affected in his wind and was put to stud, with what wonderful results we all know. I doubt if any sire has exerted a greater influence on our thoroughbred stock than Greatorex, who headed the winning sires in South Africa no less than ten times.
One of the horses who contributed greatly to the foundations of the successful Vogelvlei Stud of Messrs. Birch Brothers, is Moscato, who was imported by their father Mr. E. V. Birch. Moscato who was by Marco out of Cellaret by Prisoner, won a Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot and was a good sire himself and his daughters proved very valuable broodmares and bred lots of good winners for the Birch family.
Sidus, a rather coarse black son of St. Simon and Star of Fortune by Hermit, was a good sort of horse in England where he dead-heated with the good mare Merry Gal in the Doncaster Cup and was third in the Two Thousand Guineas and in the sensational Princess of Wales Stakes at Newmarket when Epsom Lad beat the Derby winner Diamond Jubilee.
At stud Sidus proved disappointing, though his son Matrimony did win our Derby and his name still crops up in pedigrees. He was imported by Sir Abe Bailey and stood at his Arundel Stud near Colesberg.
Pietri, by St. Frusquin out of Pie Powder, by Morglay, was easily the best two-year-old of his year in England where his victories included the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood, the Gimcrack at York and the Champagne at Doncaster. He then became touched in the wind but even so started favourite for the Two Thousand Guineas, but any chance he might have had of beating Sunstar was ruined by a bad start.
In the Derby he started second favourite to the winner Sunstar, but made no showing. Then to show that he still retained the ability to gallop, he finished third behind the champions Swynford and Lemberg in the ten thousand pounds Eclipse Stakes. At the end of that season he was purchased by that eccentric character Dr. C. Schnehage, who retired him to his stud at Winburg, where he was “buried alive.”
At that time, I was doing the mating of his mares for Sir Abe Bailey and persuaded him to send Felicity and Quaver to Pietri. He was no doubt very lucky to get foals out of both and the foals were the Derby winner Contentment and the Nursery winner Albani, so when Sir Abe knew these youngsters were a bit above the ordinary, he bought Pietri, who did him good service and whose daughters proved exceptionally good winner producers. There is no dount that Pietri was a really high-class horse and would have gone far but for his wind affliction.
SUNSTONE
Another roarer to do well in this country was Sunstone, a son of the Derby winner Sunstar, and of the disqualified Oaks winner Stony Ford, by Swynford. Despite his wind trouble Sunstone won the Portland Stakes at Doncaster and was second the Stewards Cup at Goodwood, which shows that he was plentifully endowed with speed and his stud career in South Africa showed that he transmitted the stamina which he no doubt possessed but could not show because of his affliction.
He was imported by Sir Abe Bailey who sold him to Mr. E. V. Birch, who retired him to the Vogelvlei Stud where he has on five occasions been champion sire in South Africa. He sired the big winner Lenin and his daughters are doing exceptionally well and have on several occasions put him at the head of the list of sires of winning broodmares.
A very versatile performer was French bred horse The Sirdar by Kinley out of Gibbs by Sea Sick. In his own country he was a winner and ran third in the French Derby and sent over to England, finished third in Manna’s Derby with Solario filling fourth place behind him. He was also a winner there and sent to the United States, he won there, too, before returning to England from whence he was imported by Messrs. M. and C. de Wet to stand at their Prospect Stud. He got some useful winners including Taj Mahal but could not be described as a stud success.
In September 1933 there came to South Africa the first English Classic winner when Mr. Alan Gibbons of the Ridgewater Stud in the Middelburg district of the Cape, bought the English and Irish St. Leger winner, Royal Lancer. He was by the Derby winner Spearmint out of Royal Favour by White Eagle, but sad to relate he proved a dismal stud failure both overseas and in this country.
Not deterred by this failure, Mr. Gibbons three years later imported yet another St. Leger winner when he purchased the then fifteen-year-old Salmon-Trout, a son of unbeaten The Tetrarch and the world’s then record high priced mare Salamandra, who was sold for 16,000 guineas when she was carrying our hero.
Salmon-Trout only started twice as a juvenile, winning both the Prendergast and Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket in which he beat such good ones as St. Germans, Santorb and Hurstwood. Next year he won the Hastings Stakes at Newmarket as well as the Princess of Wales Stakes, beating Obliterate, Verdict, Twelve Pointer and other good ones, and went on to Doncaster to win the St. Leger, about which there remains a story to be written.
He was also second in the Newmarket Stakes with the subsequent Derby winner Sansovino third and was third behind Pharos and Parth in the Champion Stakes, with Verdict and the dual Eclipse Stakes winner Polyphontes behind him.
Next season he ran second behind Santorb in the Ascot Gold Cup and was then retired to the Aga Khan’s stud where great things were expected of him, but he proved disappointing though he did get two very good sons in King Salmon and Salmon Leap. The former’s victories included a Sandown Park Stud Produce Stakes, a Great Yorkshire Stakes, an Eclipse Stakes and a Coronation Cup and he ran second in three important races when following Rodosto in the Two Thousand Guineas, Young Lover in the Newmarket Stakes and Hyperion in the Derby.
At stud he sired the St. Leger winner Herringbone before he was exported to Brazil where he is siring good ones. Salmon-Trout‘s other famous son Salmon-Leap, was imported to this country by Messrs. Birch Brothers, who were no doubt drawn to him because he was out of Sunstone‘s dam. After a few seasons at stud in England and France he joined the Vogelvlei stud where he did good service. Among his best were the Durban Gold Cup winner Salmon and the sprinter Indus.
GOOD RACING RECORD
As a racehorse Salmon-Leap takes high rank. He was slow maturing and won three races as a three-year-old season showed marked but next improvement winning the Newbury Summer Cup, the Bibury Cup, the Dullingham Stakes and was third in the Goodwood, Manchester and Ascot Gold Cups.
At five he won the Burwell Stakes, carrying 10st and won the Coronation Cup at Epsom under top weight, beating the Derby winner Cameronian, the St. Leger winner Sandwich and the good French horse Goyescas among others and in the Ascot Gold Cup he was second behind the great stayer Trimdon with Ut Majeur, Sandwich, Nitsichin and Shell Transport in the field.
Silvermere, a son of The Winter King and Demurrage, by Cyllene, was brought out by Mr. G. Wyrley-Birch for stud purposes, but beyond siring the Durban Gold Cup winner Ascalabus, he did not further distinguish himself. On the turf he won an Ascot Gold Vase and was the intruder on the Aga Khan’s “slam” when his Firdaussi, Dastur and the Oaks winner Udaipur finished first, second and fourth in the St. Leger with Silvermere in third place.
Round about 1926 Mr. Solly Joel sent some horses to race in South Africa, among them Cross Bow by Gay Crussader out of Popinjay by St. Frusquin. Slow in maturing, Cross Bow did nothing as a juvenile, but next year came out and scored a runaway victory in the Newmarket Stakes and on the strength of this facile win he started favourite for the Derby, won by Manna in which he never threatened danger.
He ran with distinction in other races at three and next season showed what manner of horse he was by winning the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot carrying 9st There is no doubt that he could gallop when caught in the mood, but like so many of his sire’s stock he had his own ideas about when an effort was required. He was put up to auction by Mr. Joel and purchased for 7000 guineas by Mr. Henry Nourse, which up to that time was the highest price ever paid for a horse in South Africa. At stud Cross Bow proved rather patchy. He sired a great horse in Moonlit, who ranks in our very top class, but it is as a sire of good broodmares that he lives on.
This then about exhausts the imported horses who gained some measure of fame overseas. There are doubtless others well worthy of mention like the sprinters Parhelion, Hesperus II and Satyr II and the stayers Jugo and Charleville, but space prohibits the treatment of a wider sphere.
I have often been asked which is the best horse ever imported to this country. The answer is not easy. As a racehorse I would be inclined to give that honour to Salmon-Trout, but it is all a matter of personal opinion. Four horses have had an influence on the thoroughbred as a breed. They are Belladrum, Skylark, Candlemas and Nunthorpe and all four were above the average in racing ability.
RECENT IMPORTATIONS
Since the end of World War II a lot of good horses have come to South Africa, but to deal with them would require an article in itself. Never before have so many horses been imported who have such good credentials and I think I can safely claim that South Africa has taken more good horses from the British Isles in the period covered by the last volume of the English Stud Book, than any other country, and to this can be added a number of distinguished importations from France.
A glance through the list of winners of important races shows that there are now in South Africa, winners of the Lincolnshire Handicap, Queen’s Prize at Kempton, City and Suburban, Woodcote Stakes (2), Coronation Cup at Epsom, Newbury Summer Cup, Coventry Stakes at Ascot, Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot, Chesterfield Cup at Goodwood, Newbury Autumn Cup, Imperial Produce Stakes at Kempton and Jockey Club at Newmarket.
Among Irish winners we have victors in their Derby and St. Leger and French horses who have won races like the Prix Juigne, the Prix Royal Oak (French St. Leger), Prix de St. Firmin, Prix Noailles, Prix de Bois-Roussel, Prix Motrico, Prix Jean Prat and Prix Kefalin. In addition we have had good winners from Italy, so if racing is not taxed out of existence or further commercialised by bodies with no comprehension of the glorious traditions which go to make turf history, South Africa should make a further advance as a thoroughbred producing country. Let us hope the fates and the Provincial authorities will deal gently with horse racing and breeding.
Finally, just a few remarks about horses that narrowly missed coming to South Africa. Soon after the Anglo-Boer War, Mr. Charles Southey of the Culmstock Stud was in England and keen on importing a St. Simon horse. He was offered Rabelais who became very famous as a sire, but in trying to get the price reduced a little, he missed his chance and Rabelais went to France where he became one of the greatest sires of the present century.
Then in 1916 there was offered for sale in England a colt by Bayardo out of the Oaks winner Rosedrop, with a reserve of 2,000 guineas on him. An agent in England cabled Mr. Hennie Smit and advised him to buy when the colt failed to reach his reserve. Mr. Smit agreed, but by then Alec Taylor, the Manton trainer, had persuaded the colt’s owner, Lady James Douglas, to race him herself and as Gainsborough he won the Two Thousand Guineas, Derby and St. Leger and became one of the greatest sires in England, where his sons Hyperion and Solario also won classic races and became famous sires.
I think that Desmond was also offered to a South African breeder who preferred another son of St. Simon, but the price on Desmond, who became champion sire in England, might have been much higher than that paid for the horse actually imported. As a last instance, I myself missed getting that great sire Beau Pere, by Son-in-Law out of the One Thousand Guineas winner Cinna. I was looking out for a sire to succeed Kerasos and wrote to my old friend the late Mr. Donald Fraser England to let me know if Beau Pere was for sale and what sort of an individual he was. He cabled his reply, which read: “Beau Pere beautiful horse, faulty forelegs, three hundred Cape Town.” My first reaction was to close the deal immediately, but unluckily I met that good judge the late Jack Gard and told him of my intentions. He thought it was a mistake to buy a horse with faulty forelegs and with very little form, so I let the opportunity slide.
A little later Beau Pere was sold by public auction for one hundred guineas and exported to New Zealand where he almost immediately jumped into prominence as a sire and headed the list of winning sires in 1939 and 1940. He was then sold for a big price to Australia and went to the top there in 1941 and 1942. He was then bought by the American film magnate Louis B. Mayer and sent to America at a very big price. There he too became famous in the first few years before he died and his first crop filled the first three positions in the Hollywood Derby.
While one dreams of what such as Rabelais, Desmond, Gainsborough and Beau Pere might have done in South Africa, I think most will agree that for the good of the breed, it is just as well that they remained where they were. South Africa has had great benefit from the blood of Rabelais and Gainsborough, much more so than if they had stood in this country. The blood of the famous horses who have come to South Africa must benefit the country if only the Provincial authorities will restrain their predatory instincts and not bleed racing white by over taxation. Our South African people have an instinctive love of the horse and rightly directed, that love can assure the future of horse racing and the noble breed of the thoroughbred horse.
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Article source: https://southafricanracehorse.wordpress.com/2020/05/14/some-distinguished-equine-importations-into-south-africa/