46 The American Thoroughbred 



to Hobbie Noble and Elthiron) in the St. Leger of 1853, which is the first of his 

 performances that I have been able to find; and in the following year with 117 pounds 

 up was third to West Australian and Kingston in the Ascot Gold Cup. Just one month 

 previous to that in the Manchester Trades Plate, a handicap, Rataplan carried 130 

 pounds and won cleverly. Old Tom Parr (the man who "discovered" Fisherman five 

 years later) declared that if the Ascot Cup could have been run with 130 pounds on 

 each, so he could have gotten a "live weight" boy to ride him, Rataplan would have 

 beaten the pair of them. Rataplan started in 71 races, of which 62 were above two 

 miles and he won 42 limes in all, not going to the stud until he was eight years old. 

 Query, did that not lead up, very materially, to the fact that he fell far below his 

 brother and his half-brother, King Tom, as well, for that matter as a begetter of 

 great performers? 



KING TOM, by Harkaway out of Pocahontas, was deficient (through his sire, of 

 course) in sire blood and that is why I understand how his line has so suddenly grown 

 weak all over the world. But when both were alive, King Tom's fillies were not only 

 stouter than his sons but also stouter than the daughters of either Stockwell ort 

 Rataplan. King Cole (brother to King Lud) was sent to New Zealand where he got 

 Nelson, who raced till he was nine years old and won seventeen cups ; and got many 

 other good winners but no good sires. In this country, however, the sons of King 

 Tom were more successful, consisting of the following good, though not great sires : 



PHAETON, out of Merry Sunshine by Storm, from a daughter of Falstaff (brother 

 to Phryne and Flatcatcher) from a sister to Pompey by Emilius, from Variation (Oaks 

 winner in 1834) by Bustard. Sire of Ten Broeck, Aramis, King Alfonso and King 

 Faro. King Alfonso was a true racehorse while Ten Broeck was merely a watch- 

 breaker and the worst exaggerated horse in American turf history. 



KING ERNEST, out of Ernestine by Touchstone, from Lady Geraldine by The 

 Colonel. This horse was imported by the late David D. Withers and kept at Long 

 Branch as a private stallion, otherwise he might have gotten a great many more 

 winners than he did for he bred a great deal of class. His son King Eric (who died 

 comparatively young) got Prince Lief, Dick Welles and Ort Wells, three better per- 

 formers than generally come from one sire. 



KING BAN, out of Atlantis (sent to New Zealand) by Thormanby, from Hurricane 

 by Wild Dayrell, from Midia by Scutari. This horse was the only King Tom horse 

 I ever heard of with bad legs but he had them, even if he did belong to my good 

 friend Barak G. Thomas, whom to know is to revere and love for all that is upright 

 and manly. King Ban got Bamburg that won the Louisville Cup and Ban Fox, a 

 great winner in the colors of James B. Haggin. He also got King Thomas, the only 

 American yearling that ever brought $38,000 at public vendue but, to borrow the 

 language of Mr. Kipyard Rudling, "that is another story." 



GREAT TOM, a big and coarse chestnut out of Woodcraft by Voltigeur and there- 

 for'e a brother to the Derby winner, Kingcraft, was imported into Tennessee by 

 General W. H. Jackson of Belle Meade. He was barely second-class as a racehorse 

 although he won the St. James' Palace Stakes at three years old, for at five he ran 

 third in the Champion Stakes to Springfield who gave him a year and thirteen pounds. 

 But Jackson made no mistake in the importation of Great Tom for his mares were 

 all light-boned and Great Tom had timber enough under him for a cart-horse. He 

 got the dams of Proctor Knott and about fifty other great performers and while he 

 was a great broodmare sire, he also got some excellent performers, notably Mr. Chris 

 Smith's mare Maid Marian and Thackeray, the latter (now probably forgotten) beinj> 

 the only horse to beat the famous Miss Woodford at three years old. He did not 

 get so good a. performer as either King Alfonso or Ten Broeck but he was, through his 

 daughters, a much more useful horse in a general way than any other son of King 

 Tom brought to these United States of ours. 



