T'he American thoroughbred 77 



and St. Leger winners imported by us, if you will kindly throw out "the hammer- 

 headed Margrave" and St. Blaise, but you must remember likewise that Glencoe won 

 the Ascot Cup, to confirm his races of the previous year ; and that, at five years old, 

 he walked over for the "Whip" at four miles (a v/hip made from the tail of Eclipse), a 

 contest in which the world-famous Touchstone declined to become a participant. 



All the foregoing importations were made prior to the Revolution, which put a 

 quietus on all breeding operations for the next ten years. About 1790, however, 

 matters began to revive and importations of mares, as well as stallions commenced 

 once more in earnest. The most valuable mare imported in that era was Castianira, 

 foaled in 1796 and bred by Mr. Popham, whose grandson, more than half a century 

 later, bred that big and beautiful Derby winner, Wild Dayrell. She was by Rocking- 

 ham, son of Highflyer, out of Tabitha by Trentham, from a daughter of Bosphorus, 

 from a sister to Grecian Princess by Forester. Her American produce was as 

 follows : 



1803 bl c by imp. Mufti. 



1805 b c Sir Archy by imp. Diomed (Derby 1780). 



1806 b f Highland Mary by same. 



1807 cb c Hephestion by imp. Buzzard (Woodpecker). 



1808 b f Castania by imp. Archduke. 



1809 sr f Virgo by imp. Sir. Peter Teazle. 



1810 b f Noli-me-Tangere by Topgallant. 



I should always have been disposed to give imported Diomed (notwithstanding 

 his seventeen years of failure in England) the credit for that great and prepotent sire 

 Sir Archy, had I never gone to Australia. But when I got over there and began to 

 study Australian pedigrees, I found "Tabitha by Trentham" hot and thick among 

 pioneer importations, long before people had begun to import stallions or mares from 

 England with any speculative motives in view. Hephestion by imp. Buzzard (who 

 got Selim, Castrel and Rubens before leaving England) was a fairly good horse 

 but nowhere near such a sire as Sir Archy. "Impar Congressus Achilli" as the 

 Roman had said on a previous occasion. I now give the stallions imported between 

 the close of the Revolution and the "late unpleasantness" which began in 1861. 



