SIRES, SALES AND THE CHALLENGE
Sitting in the peaceful spaciousness of Saratoga's elm-dotted paddock the other day a veteran trainer looked about him at the horses being saddled for the day's last race. "Some of them don't look like much, do they?" he said quietly. Then, as though he had unintentionally offended a friend, he added, "And yet there must have been a day in the life of every owner here when he said to himself, 'I think I've got a real good one this time.' "
That trainer had—knowingly or not—put his finger on the deepest roots of Thoroughbred racing: the endless search for a way to come up with a better horse. In a day when the perfection of some sciences is so complete that it would terrify the citizens of the last century, the science of Thoroughbred breeding remains so mysteriously inexact that today it poses more of a challenge than ever before to the world's roster of horsemen—a rapidly expanding group which is mounted somewhere near the economic top of the participant scale. As one breeder put it: "The dumbest guy in the world can guess right and the smartest guy in the world can guess wrong. If there was a set theory for breeding the best horses there wouldn't be any more fun in racing."
Ideally the best theory is "breed the best to the best—and hope for the best," but because all breeding is by necessity a compromise, the answer lies purely in genetics—a science in itself which is far from mastered. Great horses rarely reproduce themselves; conversely many of the great racers in history descended from parents who, although they may have earned great reputations at stud, were often only mediocre at best during their racing careers.
During the many 1956 yearling sales, regardless of whether they are at Keeneland (which concluded its summer sales a few weeks ago), Saratoga, Del Mar, Garden State or scattered points in between, thousands of prospective buyers will be seeking to acquire a youngster who some day may become as famous as the former racing champions whose pictures appear on the following six-page foldout. The selection of these 12 particular horses deserves some explanation. For one thing, all of them, ranging from 25-year-old Discovery to 6-year-old Native Dancer, are pictured as they recently appeared—walking, galloping and even posing proudly—in their present habitat. The 12, in their day, were champions all; not as well known by the general public (until television made Native Dancer a household word in 1953) as champions of today, but nonetheless considered by turfmen of their time as outstanding, if not great, race horses. They had different sizes, shapes and colors, different pedigrees and, most important of all, widely varying success upon retirement to stud—all the way from Discovery and Count Fleet (who has already sired two horses of the year) to Citation, Tom Fool and Native Dancer, whose value as sires it is too early to determine, and finally on down to Assault, who is now sterile.
The yearling sales shopper of today, although well aware of the correlation between looks and class, can be guided by any number of factors ranging from first impressions (which are often as valuable in judging animals as humans) to following a fad of buying the progeny of a particular sire whose get are momentarily enjoying great success. In the last analysis, however, no matter how well a horse is bred—or thought to be bred—conformation is really what counts. And most good horses, like all 12 in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S championship gallery, have good conformation. Where the difference of opinion among buyers usually lies is in the evaluation of pedigree and a willingness to overlook some weaknesses or deficiencies in over-all conformation. For example, had Calumet Farm offered Citation for sale as a yearling, his slightly peculiar stance and the manner in which he toed-out might have disinterested the stickler for perfect conformation. And yet Citation, not the picture horse that Eight Thirty was, substituted substance and strength for beauty. Power and ruggedness were his trademark. Citation, now 11 years old and the first million-dollar winner in history, has already sent his first crop of 3-year-olds to the races. Of this bunch the Preakness winner Fabius is the most distinguished, although by no stretch of the imagination could one say that Fabius has measured up to his sire's potential.
The task of evaluating the sire's worth must, of course, take time. Long ago John Madden ventured the opinion that the only way to judge a stallion is five years after he's dead. Another method is to employ the 12-year plan: 12 years after a horse has been among the top money winners, his reputation as a sire is established—either as good, mediocre or a failure. By this system Citation should not be judged for at least another half dozen years. A ready example of the 12-year plan at work is the 1943 triple crown winner Count Fleet, now 16 years old. For the last five years Count Fleet has been one of the top American sires (topping the entire list in 1951), having produced, among others, One Count, Counterpoint and the current California 3-year-old champion, Count of Honor.
Appearances often are deceptive. As a nondescript-looking bay was led into the Saratoga sales ring one summer night in 1940, most of the buyers in attendance glanced at their catalogs just long enough to note that his sire was Good Goods and his dam Winds Chant—neither of them distinguished runners—and then, with bored yawns, they flipped their pages to see what was coming in next. The bidding was soon over and within a few minutes a Chicago lawyer by the name of Albert Sabath had acquired a race horse for a total outlay of just $700. That colt, unoriginally named Alsab, won $350,000 for Mr. Sabath—an accomplishment which forever will mark him as the greatest of all yearling sales bargains (save, perhaps, Man o' War, which sold for $5,000 and earned $249,465).
The fact that a colt like Alsab went in and out of the ring unnoticed by the big buyers has, over the years, lent challenging encouragement to thousands of new Albert Sabaths, all looking for a new superbargain. The problem of judging how good a horse will be merely by looking at him is probably about as difficult an assignment as you could ask for. Faced with this chore for most of his 60-odd years as a trainer, Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons once remarked: "Think how easy it would be if we could look inside to see what sort of machinery was there. If the engine had all the proper equipment in good working order, we'd keep it. If not, we wouldn't have to waste time with it."
Despite the Alsabs, perfect conformation remains the ideal: an animal that gives one the impression of perfect symmetry and balance. Discovery serves as a top example of a horse who had ideal conformation as well as other prerequisites for greatness: a wonderful disposition, tremendous constitution, speed, heart, soundness and a racing brain. The same could apply to Assault who, although cursed by a lame foot from an early age, brought into play such a show of courage that his trainer, Max Hirsch, in recalling Assault's career recently, said, "He had the greatest heart in any horse I ever saw. Like a man with arthritis, his foot hurt him all the time, and yet he never once turned his tail to anything you asked him to do."
Tom Fool, Greentree Stables' 7-year-old bay, is another example of perfect conformation and beautiful balance. Voted the 2-year-old champion of 1951, Tom Fool was forced by illness to miss the following year's triple crown events, but his feat of winning all 10 of his starts as a 4-year-old has stamped him among breeders and horsemen as one of the greatest racers ever produced in America. This despite the fact that public acclaim (which bases far too much of its judgment on the results of a handful of overpublicized races) unfortunately will probably never accept him in the class with an animal like War Admiral, now a 22-year-old shadow of his former championship self showing the inevitable effects of old age.
In view of the general rule of thumb that great horses can hardly be expected to reproduce themselves, Man o' War did all right when he sired War Admiral, and War Admiral himself has sired, among others, Busher, the horse of the year in 1945. Similarly the 1930 champion, Gallant Fox, in his first two crops produced the champions Omaha and Granville (the former, pictured on these pages, is now, at 24, retired from stud and turned out for the rest of his days in his adopted state of Nebraska). Omaha was never an outstanding sire and he quickly lost public appeal. Somewhat in the same situation today is 20-year-old Challedon, the pride of Maryland, who twice, in 1939 and 1940, was the horse of the year. Later he sired such stakes winners as Donor and Shy Guy, neither of whom were really good enough to keep the name of Challedon among the foremost fashionable stallions.
Two other former champions on these pages demonstrate still other turns of fate for fine runners. Stymie, who was higher on the leg than the average colt, matured late and wore well. In fact, this amazing racer, bred by the King Ranch and later claimed for $1,500 by Hirsch Jacobs, became the world's leading money winner at the age of 7 when the rest of his generation had long since settled into the life at stud. His best son to date is Joe Jones. Bold Venture, on the other hand—a good example of the sprinting type with his tremendous muscle fore and aft—gained what racing fame he enjoys today solely through a victory in the 1936 Kentucky Derby. He was better as a sire, however, as two of his sons, Assault and Middleground, duplicated that feat and earned considerably more fame besides.
The True Gamble
This week, as the 36th annual Saratoga yearling sales draw to a close, the hundreds of buyers who gather nightly in the sales pavilion will have lots to think about—and plenty of opportunity to buy the best, including a few by some of the former champions already mentioned. For the most part, however, attention will be focused on the progeny of such well-established sires as Nearco, Hyperion, Mahmoud, Heliopolis, Tulyar and Palestine, all of whom are represented in the large consignment of Glenangus Farms. Glenangus Farms is owned by a portly 66-year-old comparative newcomer to breeding by the name of Larry S. MacPhail, who gladly admits, while showing visitors around his barns, that he is the same Larry S. MacPhail who once headed the Cincinnati, Brooklyn and Yankee baseball clubs. Today, with over a million dollars invested in Thoroughbred stock, MacPhail is taking dead aim on the position formerly held secure by A. B. Hancock Sr. and later by Henry Knight as the country's leading market breeder. "There is no unanimity as to what constitutes a good yearling," says MacPhail, "so when my night comes, I'm going to offer 'em the best available—the best breeding and the best in conformation. With 40 yearlings going at auction I'll need to average about $12,000 to make any money. I think I'll do it."
But even with Larry MacPhail's highly prized consignment to lure them, buyers at Saratoga are constantly mindful of the elementary fundamentals of conformation: a good sloping shoulder, legs with strong bones, hard joints with no knottiness, medium-sized, well-shaped foot together with good spring in the pastern and, most important of all, a good intelligent head containing a wide jaw and a bold eye set in an honest face.
Such an animal may go for $60,000 or $6,000, or even $600. He may never get to the races or he may follow in the footsteps of such yearling sales bargains as Dark Star, Determine, Hasty Road and High Gun.
This is the gamble a true horseman—as opposed to a horse player—enjoys most of all.
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CITATION
First Thoroughbred ever to earn $1 million in purses
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DISCOVERY
A top handicap horse, he carried as much as 143 pounds
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CHALLEDON
Maryland-bred, voted Horse of Year in 1939, 1940
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WAR ADMIRAL
Famous son of Man o' War, won Triple Crown in 1937
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STYMIE
Claimed for $1,500, won $918,485 in 131 starts
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TOM FOOL
Unbeaten in 1953, was top sprinter, handicap horse
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NATIVE DANCER
TV made stretch-running gray national hero in 1954
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BOLD VENTURE
Won Kentucky Derby in 1936, sired two other winners
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COUNT FLEET
Top horse in 1943, won Belmont Stakes by 25 lengths
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ASSAULT
Bred in Texas, was named Horse of the Year in 1946
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ALSAB
A $700 investment, grossed $350,015 before retiring
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OMAHA
Won Triple Crown in 1935, later raced in England