272 THE ENGLISH TURF 



and many English breeders fight very shy of a sire who 

 did not run after his three-year-old days, and who probably 

 never won over a distance of ground. Public breeders did 

 not take very kindly to Common, in spite of the fact that 

 he won all three classic races, and their judgment has 

 been proved correct, for so far this son of Isonomy has 

 not been a great stud success, although in 1898 Nun Nicer 

 won the One Thousand Guineas, and his progeny accounted 

 for the sum of j^ 10,000 in stakes in that year, and since then 

 Osbech has been a big winner. 



" Four-figure " yearlings have been plentiful enough during 

 the last twenty years, and very few of them ever get the 

 money back that was paid for them at auction. Of course 

 there have been exceptions to prove the rule, and of these 

 there never was a better bargain than La Fleche, who cost 

 the late Baron Hirsch 5,500 guineas at the 1890 sale of the 

 Queen's yearlings at Hampton Court, and won, amongst 

 other races, the One Thousand Guineas, the Oaks, the 

 St. Leger, the Lancashire Plate of ;^ 10,000, the Cambridge- 

 shire, and the Liverpool Autumn Cup. This wonderful 

 mare reached the record price for a brood mare, she having 

 been sold to Sir Tatton Sykes for 12,600 guineas at the 

 dispersal of Baron Hirsch's stud in 1896. Another famous 

 horse that went through the sale ring as a yearling was 

 Doncaster, where, under the name of " All Heart and No 

 Peel," he was bought by the late Mr. Merry for 900 guineas. 

 His principal victories were gained in the Derby and the 

 Ascot Cup, and even if I admit that he was not exactly a 

 great horse he has been the chief upholder of the Stockwell 

 line of Birdcatcher, having sired Bend Or (the sire of 

 Ormonde), who at the present day is represented by such 

 horses as Kendal, Bona Vista, Martagon, Orvieto, Flying 

 Fox, and many more whose sons and daughters are winning 

 races every week. St. Simon was sold for something under 

 ;^2,ooo at auction, and his sire, Galopin, as stated elsewhere, 

 cost the late Prince Batthyany but 520 guineas when a 

 yearling, while Memoir and Mimi were also sale -ring 

 bargains. 



It would be possible to prolong the list very considerably. 



