The Three Cardinal Lines ji 



The real value of Touchstone, as a sire, is not to be computed by the number of 

 classical winners descended from him, for in that respect he falls far below Stockwell, 

 St. Simon and even his own grandson, Hermit. But in 1888, a writer in the London 

 Sportsman showed that, after rejecting 8 per cent, of Touchstone's descendants for 

 club feet and less than 2 per cent, of Birdcatcher's for a similar reason, the male line 

 of Touchstone showed 924 horses above the grade of selling platers to Birdcatcher's 

 887. Now there was just two years' difference between the ages of these horses; 

 and that enabled many mares of Touchstone's get to be bred to Birdcatcher, while 

 Artillery, who ran a dead heat for second place with Bonnie Scotland in the St. 

 Leger of 1856, won by Warlock, is the only horse, within my knowledge, that was by 

 Touchstone and out of a Birdcatcher mare. 



It has always been a matter of dispute as to which was the best son of Touchstone 

 Orlando or Newminster. Judged by performances, neither was first-class, though one 

 won the Derby and the other the St. Leger. Judged as sires, we find Orlando three 

 times first on the list, three times second and twice third. Newminster was in front 

 for but two seasons, twice second and three times third. He got winners of more money 

 than Orlando, but he was by seven years the younger horse of the two and Newmin- 

 ster's increase of winnings was due merely to the constant increase in the value of 

 racing prizes in the meantime. Coming down to the next generation, Orlando (who 

 was very deficient in sire blood himself) got no horse worthy of being called a sire, 

 Boiardo, probably his best in this respect, having been sold to Australian owners. 

 Newminster, on the contrary, is the only stallion since 1820 to get three premier 

 sires, Hermit for seven seasons (consecutively) and Lord Clifden and Adventurer for 

 one season each. Hermit's success was due entirely to the fact that his get were 

 flashy and liked short races. 



Of course, Eclipse is "first the rest nowhere" in summing up the results of the 

 past century, being the male tail-line ancestor of all the best sires and most of the 

 better class of performers. But Eclipse represents the male line of the Darley Arabian 

 and had just, one cross of him, while he had two of the Godolphin and even more of 

 the Lister Turk. But as the male line of the latter horse is extinct by nearly 

 two centuries, we will let him drop out and confine our attention entirely to those 

 that have survived the wear-and-tear of Time. The following table shows the pro- 

 portion of blood of the three cardinal lines in each of some, forty odd prominent stal- 

 lions of the nineteenth century, all of which have been sires of at least one classic 

 winner : 



