56 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS 



THE MISTRESS OF CRUICKSTON PARK. 



It affords me profound pleasure to present in my 

 ''Recollections" a portrait of a lady whose name and 

 personality have been more discussed in Canada than 

 that of any other within this broad Dominion. Miss Kath- 

 erine L. Wilks, of Cruickston Park, Gait — a member of 

 the great Astor family of New York — has by birth and 

 wealth the entree to the most exclusive society in Amer- 

 ica, yet she prefers the attractions of her Canadian 

 estate of over one thousand acres to those of a mansion 

 on Madison Avenue. A woman of culture and refinement, 

 the social pleasures and diversions that satisfy the major- 

 ity of her sex, have for her few attractions, though the 

 doors of Cruickston Hall are ever open to a wide circle 

 of friends, where, as lady of the manor, she dispenses 

 graceful and boundless hospitality. There are noble 

 dames in the Motherland who have gained distinction in 

 the horse world; prizes in the show ring and at horse 

 shows attest the interest they take in the development 

 of the equine race, but the position occupied by Miss 

 Wilks is much more unique. Her taste, fortunately for 

 the horse-breeding interests of Canada, inclines to the 

 light harness horse, and in furtherance of her fancy she 

 has within a few years spent an enormous amount of 

 money. Yet, strange to say, the rock upon which eight- 

 tenths of the amateur horse breeders of this country have 

 wrecked their hopes, this lady, possessing none of their 

 business experience, steered a safe course and the result 

 has been a gratifying success. 



Her principle of action has been eminently clever; aim- 

 ing as she did to secure the best results, she at the com- 

 mencement of her venture recognized the important fact 

 that quality begets quality and that can only be obtained 

 by buying the best, regardless of its cost. It was this 

 sound reasoning which induced her to pay $15,000 for 



