50 RACEHORSES IN AUSTRALIA 



That then, is the main object of Bruce Lowe's "Figure System" — to 

 identify each of the fifty original mares in a simple and handy manner. And 

 this has been done. Mr. Lowe claimed that his system would "revolutionise 

 our methods of mating the thoroughbred horse." I think that it has done so. 

 Few people care to publish, or peruse, a tabulated pedigree nowadays without 

 the figures being appended to each horse in the table. And I can scarcely 

 think it possible that every racing man of to-day does not see, in his mind's 

 eye, the name of each horse of whose pedigree he is thinking, without also 

 visualising its appended number. When you mention St. Simon, for instance, 

 you immediately know that his family number is II, and that therefore, on 

 the dam's side, he runs to the Sedbury Royal mare. Stockwell's name at 

 once calls up No. 3, and you understand in a moment that his tap-root is Dam 

 of the two True Blues. And so on, throughout all the names in any given 

 pedigiee. At a glance you know to what family you are in-breeding, and, 

 therefore, how to outcross, if you so desire. Mr. Lowe had numerous side 

 issues to his system, and with these you may, or you may not, agree. He 

 propounded the theory that horses received certain qualities direct from the 

 female side of their house, as, for instance, that prepotency which goes far 

 to ensure that a horse will develop into a sire. That may or may not be 

 true. Personally, I am sure, so far as one can be certain of anything, that it 

 is. He put a hall-mark upon such horses by printing their family figure in 

 thick type. Thus, in a tabulated pedigree, you will always notice the numbers 

 3, 8, II, 12, and 14 printed after that particular style, and then in a moment 

 you understand that these, according to Lowe, possessed "sire characteristics." 

 He believed in the theory of "Saturation," at least to some extent, and wrote 

 about it in his book. But that is beyond our scope in this volume, and we 

 shall not discuss it here. He also wrote, instructively, upon how to breed 

 "Great Stake Horses," and "How Great Fillies are mostly Bred," the "Breed- 

 ing of Sprinters," and an excellent chapter on "Phenomenal Racehorses," 

 and you will find much to make you think if you peruse these. Mr. Bruce 

 Lowe's influence has been very great in the Thoroughbred Turf world, and 

 he has been much assisted by the erudition and enthusiasm of his Editor, Mr. 

 William Allison, of the English "Sportsman," and the owner and manager of 

 the Cobham Stud. For, unfortunately, Mr. Lowe was in very bad health 

 when his book was approaching completion, and he travelled to London in 

 order to supervise its publication. Here, all too soon, and before the proofs 

 had reached his hands, he died. From his literary style you would scarcely 

 call up to your imagination a picture of what the man actually was like. For 

 Mr. Lowe certainly wrote somewhat dogmatically, as indeed anyone wth 

 pronounced views upon a subject next his heart must perforce do. It may be, 

 too, that his editor, has assisted in strengthening such an impression. For Mr. 

 Allison has a happy knack of raising discussion on some equine subject, and 

 then, after controversy, he proceeds to "make his enemies his footstool." But 

 here, from the hand of Mr. R. H. Dangar, Lowe's close friend, is a little picture 

 on the converse side of that which we draw for ourselves from his writings. 

 Mr. Dangar, of Neotsfield, writes: — 



"1 do not know much of Bruce Lowe's earlier history, but under- 

 stand he commenced making out his figures in his spare time when inspec- 

 tor of Government lands out back in Queensland. Later, he and Frank 

 Reynolds worked together, or perhaps it would be more correct to say 

 compared notes, as 1 think they worked independently, and discussed 

 the question together afterwards. 



