LINES OF BLOOD 329 



but Despair seems to sire milers and sprinters rather than 

 stayers ; yet the Herod line was once famous for its stout- 

 ness. Macaroni has left no really good representative of 

 the Sweetmeat blood. His best son, McGregor, was doubt- 

 less a very good horse on the day he won the Two Thousand 

 Guineas, and there is little question that he would have won 

 the Derby had he not broken down ; but as a stallion, 

 though he got a host of small winners, he does not seem 

 to have sired a good stud horse. Ocean Wave, the sire 

 of Trident, is also by See Saw, and this horse has got 

 good stock, several of whom can stay well, to wit Billow, 

 who won the Ascot Stakes a few years ago. From Wild 

 Dayrell is also descended Pepper and Salt, the sire of the 

 City and Suburban winner Greyleg ; and from Sir Bevys, 

 of the Sweetmeat line, we have Morglay, who has had a 

 fair share of winners of late. During the last twelve months 

 no sire of direct Herod descent stood in the first twelve 

 in the list, but Ocean Wave and Despair have done fair 

 work at the stud, though neither of them has sired a first- 

 class horse. 



An important thing to bear in mind is that when any 

 line of blood begins to do badly, a large majority of 

 breeders neglect it altogether. Fashion seems to be almost 

 everything in breeding ; and as the line of the Darley 

 Arabian has so thoroughly beaten that of the Byerly Turk, 

 everyone seems inclined to help the latter to oblivion, in- 

 stead of trying to improve it by judicious crosses. That the 

 Herod family was famous for stoutness in its early days 

 must be true, if the traditions of the turf are to be believed, 

 and it is probably the case that that same stoutness is only 

 lying dormant. However, unless some great horse of 

 Herod descent quickly makes his appearance, breeders will 

 continue to neglect the family ; for breeders must be in 

 the fashion to live, and Herod blood is not the fashion 

 just now. Yet, within my experience, I have seen four 

 Derby winners who were direct descendants of Herod in 

 tail male, and these four successes were encompassed within 

 a period of nine years. The winners were Favonius, 

 Cremorne, Kisber, and Sir Bevys ; and, if the last-named 



