THE FIRST RACE MARE 5 



Chapter II. 

 The First Race Mare. 



But now, after Waterloo, with the seemingly interminable wars and 

 tumults lulled into peace and calm at last, things were beginning to shape them- 

 selves in the Colony. Evans had explored the country a hundred miles or so 

 farther out than that point to which Blaxland's little company had penetrated, 

 and he had discovered the Macquarie River, and named it. Oxley had already 

 condemned as useless almost all the fertile land of the Southern Riverina, 

 although, at any rate, he had thrown it open, and in 1824 Hamilton Hume 

 had walked with his few followers, and with Hovell, an old ship's captain 

 with whom he continually fought, from Lake George to Port Phillip Bay. 

 Cattle and sheep had increased enormously, the country over which they 

 depastured seemed to be without end, but markets were few and far apart. 

 Horses of stamina, and therefore of the best blood were urgently required in 

 order to round up the mobs of bullocks and cows which roamed the unfenced 

 plains, and to accomplish the long journeys to the distant towns. 



And thus it was that our best early stallions, and some of our mares 

 which still, through their descendants, carry on their lines, were brought to 

 Australia. Steeltrap, in 1823, was the first of the successful stallions to land. 

 His was valuable blood. He was by Scud, and Scud sired two Derby winners, 

 the first, Sam, bred in 1815, the very year in which Steeltrap was foaled, and 

 the second. Sailor, in 1817. The Oaks winner of 1819, Shoveler, was also 

 a Scud filly, and therefore it is perfectly evident that Steeltrap came from 

 the most fashionable blood of his day, and must have been worth a great 

 deal of money. His dam was by Sorcerer out of Pamella, by Whiskey from 

 Lais. He was a chestnut, and "sired very game horses." Their gameness, 

 no doubt, was exhibited during the long and tiring journeys after cattle, for 

 contests must have been rare in which they could have had opportunities 

 of proving their mettle on the racecourse. Steeltrap remains with us still in 

 the persons of the descendants of "The Steeltrap mare." There were several 

 matrons identified by the same cognomen, but this particular representative 

 of the clan was out of "a Government mare," presumably clean bred, and 

 she left two daughters. Beeswing and Marchioness, both by The Marquis, a 

 son of Dover. 



Zulu, the winner of the great Melbourne Cup in 1881, came from this 

 line, as well as Bylong, Stanley, Sweetmeat and Tridentate, while around 

 Wagga numbers of the same breed are still alive through the medium of the 

 mares Lady Cameron, Lady Phoebe, Latona and Antonia. 



In the same year, 1824, which brought us Steeltrap, there also came Jo 

 our shores Bay Camerton, or Old Camerton, or simply Camerton. He was 

 known by each and all of these names from time to time. He was by 

 Camerton, from Waltonia, by Walton, and quickly ran out, on his dam's side, 

 to the very famous Burton Barb mare, which is now so readily identified as 

 the tap root of the exceptionally high qualitied No. 2 family. Bay Camerton 

 survives through the line of Camilla, a daughter of his when mated with Old 

 Betty. But now, in the following year, 1825, arrived the first of all the 

 race mares that have made Australian Turf story. This was Manto. It was 

 indeed a happy day for our Turf when she, then a three-year-old, landed in 

 New South Wales. She was bred in England in 1822, was bought by Mr. 

 Icely, Coombing Park, and imported to Australia in 1825. I can find no 

 description of the colour of Manto, as, curiously, she does not appear in the 

 "General Stud Book." The omission came about probably in this manner: 

 In 1 780 the Duke of Cumberland, "the Butcher" of Culloden, bred a mare 



