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Show HEM. HISTORY OF HO' IS Major August Belmont Telli Story of Great Two-Year-Old. When one thoroughbred tud furnishes the champion two-year-o.d of the year, j a topnotc.i thrte-year-o.il and the beat i handicap performer of the season, fha attention at-tention of the racing world lb challenged, and there in a general desire on the part of the public to learn bornethlng of the Judgment which brought about such results. re-sults. It was no hlt-and-inlB plan of mating which gave to tht turf Man o' War, Mad Hatter and Lucullite. Let Major Ma-jor August Belmont tell the etory. "I wanted Rock Sand, the hire of the dam of Man o" War, for the Nursery Stud, and William Eaaton, who had charge of the American Tatterealls, was commissioned commis-sioned to buy him for me, which he did at a cost of $125,000. I was alao eager to own a good daughter of Orme, which J wanted to breed to Melton In the hope that 1 would get a Sysonby, that horse being by Melton out of a mare by Orme. Topiary was the selection, and she had a foal at foot by Uushey Park. She was also booked to a fashionable sire of tn day, but I sold the service and bred her to Melton. A filly was the result, but it died. When bred to Rock Sand she threw, in successive years, Trap Rock and Tracery, Tra-cery, the former the sire of Lucullite and others and the other one of the greatest horses the English turf has known, and whose book has been full for several seasons sea-sons past. Developed Own Ideas. "I have long had my own ideas," resumed re-sumed the chairman of the Jockey club. "aLOUt untried mares in the stud. Many great race horses bred at Nursery na o been produced on this plan. Man o' War and L-ucuUte are two of the latest out of such damn. Mahubah and Lucky Lass were deficient In cons:itution to commence with, out they had tne speed and the blood, and in time they developed that constitution which every race horse must possess, and they passed it on to their offspring. Masda, the first foal of Mahubah, Ma-hubah, was a very nervous filly. Man o' War Is an exceedingly rugged type, and their weanling brother, which I saw at the Nursery recently, is a stout, rugged fellow, but at the same time possessing a wealth of quality. He is the pick of my fiock of twenty-four youngsters, fourteen four-teen coits and ten fillies, and I cannot find a flaw in his make-up. I have named him My Play. His brothers and sister are in other hands, but this one will be My Play in the great game of which we are all so fond. "Do you know the history of Man o' War?" queried the major. "I was so in love with the colt that I could not bear to part with him in 1918, when I entered the service and resolved to offer my yearlings at auction. I had planned to keep him out but a few days before the sale at Saratoga, but, fearing that my action would not be understood, he was sent along with the rest. He brought only $5000, as against almost thrice that amount for some of the others, and I marveled at the time that he had sold so low. "When It came to selling last vear's crop of weanlings I determined to sell the get of each of my horses separately, and Mr. Hancock got the Fair Plays, among them the brother to Man o" War, which, like My Play, is a bay in color. I am eager to see how he will turn out Mahubah Ma-hubah is still a very young mare, and she is safe in foal again to Fair Play. "Had Lucullite, which is out of "the untried un-tried Ormondale, dam Luckv Lass, not been kicked at the post at Saratoga in his two-year-old form we think he would have won the Hopeful and Futurity stakes Ox 191 A sister to this horse, called Lucky Catch, has a superb bav colt by Houriess, and Mission by Rock "Sand has a colt by the same horse, which, by the way, has developed greatly since going to tne stud. The dam of Houriess recently recent-ly arrived from France with a yearling and weanling brother to him, the former very much like his distinguished relative. rela-tive. Judgment Was Sound. The soundness of Major .Belmont's Judgment Judg-ment in crossing Fair Play on Rock Sand dams will not have to rest on the activities activi-ties of lly Play, as there are three other smashing coits in this season's croo of weanlings at the Nursery. They are" the chestnut, Chatterton, out of Chit Chat whose dam was Chinkara by Ga.lopin- the bay. Honorable, out of Haute P.oche, a ! pall-sister to Houriess, and the brown, ; Draft, out of Dragnet, the dame of Dras-; Dras-; tice and Duchess Lace. In commenting on the racing season which closed recently on the New York courses, Major Belmont had the following to say: "It has been a very remarkable year for tne sport, and the public has shown its loyalty to the horse in no un-certam un-certam fashion. The prices paid at various vari-ous sales should encourage breeders to produce the best. I am glad to see so many additions to the ranks of owners and breeders. It will all help the cause of horse breeding." When asked when his own colors would be seen again, the chairman of the Jockey club remarked, after a pause: "I am too fond of racing to remain awav from the sport very long." And when the opinion was ventured that My Play in his two-year-old form would sport the famous Belmont Bel-mont silks there was no denial forthcoming. forthcom-ing. There is an abundance of splendid racing material to keep them in the van in the Blue Grass pastures or" the Nursery Stud under the watchful eye of Mrs. Edward Ed-ward Kane, who succeeded her husband as superintendent of that great breedln establishment. |