344 A HISTORY OF THE PEKCHEKON HOESE 



was foaled in 1884 and won the highest honors at 

 the annual show held by the Societe Hippique Per- 

 cheronne de France in 1888. He was bought for 

 Oaklawn early in 1889 by James M. Fletcher, who 

 did all of Mr. Dunham's buying in France from 

 1887 on. At the time of his purchase, he was con- 

 sidered the greatest Percheron in France, individual- 

 ly and as a sire, and the showyard records of win- 

 nings during the past 20 years confirm the estimate 

 which Mr. Fletcher and the leading French breeders 

 placed on him. More prize-winners trace to Brilliant 

 3d than to any other horse used in France or Amer- 

 ica since 1886. Individually Brilliant 3d was 

 medium-sized, standing about 16.3 hands and weigh- 

 ing a little over a ton in show condition. He was 

 well-balanced, massive in build, with heavy bone of 

 the best quality, and was excellent in action. In 

 all-around individual excellence he stands among 

 the greatest of the breed. He made three seasons in 

 France, 1886, '87 and '88, and probably sired a few 

 foals in 1889 before being imported. His colts were 

 noted for their unusually high-class type, and it is 

 believed that no sire used in the Percheron breed 

 ever begot so large a proportion of valuable colts 

 and so few inferior ones. 



Plans had been made at Oaklawn to show Brilliant 

 3d in 1889 at the Chicago Horse Show, and Mr. Dun- 

 ham intended to drive home at this show the value 

 of Brilliant blood by showing four generations — 

 Brilliant 1271, Fenelon, Brilliant 3d and 19 yearling 

 sons of Brilliant 3d imported at the same time. An 



