LINES OF BLOOD 325 



were a line of telegraph posts. No finer performance has 

 been seen during the present generation, and well might 

 " Beacon " (Mr. Joseph Osborne) write in the next issue 

 of his Horsebreeders' Handbook, of this Ascot Cup, that 

 Persimmon " won so easily by eight lengths from Winkfield's 

 Pride, Love Wisely, and Limasol, that he may fairly claim 

 to be the horse of the century, if we except Harkaway ; for 

 great horse as Ormonde undoubtedly was, he never ran a Cup 

 Course — and it may be questioned if at any time he beat 

 such good horses as Winkfield's Pride and Love Wisely." 



Mr. Osborne has seen all the good horses of the last 

 sixty-five years : he has made the thoroughbred the study 

 of a lifetime, and there is absolutely no living authority 

 to whose utterances so much importance attaches. There 

 is no need to consider Persimmon much further. Some few 

 weeks after his Ascot Cup victory he won the Eclipse 

 Stakes on a totally different course, of only half the Ascot 

 Cup distance, and this race showed that he could sprint 

 as well as stay. In years to come it will probably be found 

 that Persimmon, St. Simon, and very likely Isinglass will 

 take higher rank than the brilliant Ormonde, but which (if 

 any) of the four should rank as " the horse of the century " 

 is a question which must be left to individual opinion. 



It will be easily understood that if I were to go into 

 every branch of each line of blood at any length, and 

 try to show all the successful strains which are now in 

 existence, I should require several years for the task, and 

 a series of volumes would be the result. The object being 

 to trace a few of the reigning branches of each line of 

 descent, I may now leave St. Simon without noticing the 

 doings of such as Childwick, Matchbox, St. Florian, 

 Dunure, Utica, and a host of others. 



The Blacklock line of the Darley Arabian has also been 

 transmitted through Speculum, who was by Vedette out 

 of Doralice by Orlando. Speculum's chief stud successes 

 were Rosebery — dual winner of the Caesarewitch and Cam- 

 bridgeshire and sire of Amphion — Castlereagh, the sire 

 of that great horse Clorane, and Hagioscope, the sire of 

 Queen's Birthday and of many others who could stay the 



