DEATH SENTENCE NOT EXECUTED

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 73, 17 June 1927, Page 7

DEATH SENTENCE NOT EXECUTED

brood mare SAVED FROM DESTRUCTION Although it is somewhere in the vicinity of 12 months since sentence ( f death was passed upon the aged brood mare Rose Elect, she is still bale and hearty, and at the present time bids fair to endow the trotting -rena with a further contribution, being in foal to the handsome Don Pronto horse Metal. And it is wholly and solely to Mr. J. Johnson, owner 0 f the Australian-bred stallion, that pose Elect owes her continuity of THE SENTENCE Rose Elect’s owner, having come to the conclusion that her sphere of usefulness was past, and not wishing to see the old mare—who. although she

never sported silk, has gi\en to the turf some fine performers—passing the remainder of her days perhaps in toil and decided to have her destroyed. Mr. Johnson happened along however, at an opportune time, and knowing the value of the Childe Harold blood, which courses through the veins of both Rose Elect and his own horse Metal, petitioned that the old mare’s life be spared THE REPRIEVE Her owner at first refused to listen to the plea for commutation of the death sentence, but, after hearing friend Johnson, expound lucidly on the question of breeding, the mare’s owner wavered, and handed her over to Johnson to be mated with Metal. And so, instead of the light harness world in New Zealand being minus a proven brood mare, it promises to bo the richer through the addition of another of Rose Elect’s progeny. NEVER RACED Rose Elect is a daughter of Wild Rose, her sire being Electioneer, but ahe never raced, having met with an accident. Prior to this she had shown Food promise as a pacer, and after the mishap it was decided to keep her for breeding purposes DAM DISQUALIFIED Wild Rose, dam of Rose Elect, was sired by Childe Harold, imported from Australia, and according to reports, raced ir. the Dominion under an assumed name. After winning several events in the North Island, so the story goes, the Australian importation was nominated for a meeting at Greymouth, but the steamer on which the mare was being conveyed to the West Coast town was bar-bound, and did not arrive in time to take part in the gathering. The Greymouth authorities were, however. evidently suspicious about the bona-tides of the Australian, and they disqualified the mare and her connections for life. ENDOWED WITH SPEED Mr. Wootton, well-known Riccarton sportsman and breeder, then acquired Wild Rose, in the hope of getting the disqualification removed, and she was for some time under the care of the late Bob McMillan when he first commenced training in Christchurch. She proved a very capable and speedy free-legged pacer, but as there was no prospect of getting the ban removed, Mr. Wootton used her as a gig mare, and she was known far and wide in Canterbury for her wonderful pace on the roads. A CHAMPION BROOD MARE It is perhaps just as well that l.fe disqualifications do not affect a horse s career at the stud, for had Wild Rose been debarred the sport of trotting today would have been the noorer for the los of a number of good performers descended from this mare. After a few years in the gig. Wild Rose was mated to Wildwood two years in succession, the results being the trotter Ivy Dean 4.55. and Stop It h pacer with records of 2.11 and 4.33 Rred to Electioneer, she left Rose Elect. She was afterwards mated to Harold Dillon, but produced no more foals. BLOOD THAT BREEDS ON Old Wild Rose’s stock has bred on in wonderful fashion, as the following particulars will show: Ivy Dean, by Wildwood, produced Aotearoa. 2.15, by Mauritius; Granger, 4,35, by Harold DUlon; Dean Dillon, 4.23 by Harold Dillon; Peter Dean (T.). 4 33. by Pete-t'-ta; Ivy Audubon, 2.11, bv Great Audubon; and a mare by Petereta that niet with an accident and was never raced. AN UNLUCKY ONE This Petereta mare, a full-sister to Peter Dean, was the unlucky one of the family, for besides her own accident she had four foals to Great Audubon and one to Traxis Axworthy that, with one exception, have net teen the race track. Her first foal broke its neck when two vears old. and her second received a kick when 8 foal, and had to be shor. Her n*xt "as kicked some time ago and wifi never race, but the next, also by Great Audubon and one to Travis Axworthy Frills, and looks like getting a change the family luck. Her foal last year. f fillv by Travis Axworthy “ , roke its while running in the pad lock, and though great efforts were made to savn it for stud purpose:* it. had eventually to be destroyed. MORE WINNERS Stop It produced Salix. 3.35, and * ura Dillon, dam of Turi, a winner a t Kaikoura Rose Elect’s contributions to the trotting sport were Rosiuu Elect 3.45: then Mavis. 2.14; Rose Peters (T.), one mile five furlongs. 3.4 4; R. &v Binenclosure, has been removed to the northern end along Grey Street.

gen (T.>. 4.35: and Peter Rose, who during the past 12 months lias won four races in Tasmania Aotearoa had only one foal in PUaroa, 2.11. by Petereta. Salix has produced Brutus. 2.13. and 4.33. and Vecto. 3.34. Out of the whole of Wild Rose’s progeny, and the progeny of her daughters, there have been onlv two. Yura Dillon and Frills that have started and have not won races, and Frills looks like adding to the family record for speed. THE DOUBLE oTRAIN As previously menuorod, there will be a double strain of excellent blood in the next production cf Rose Elect, as her dam. Wild Rose, was by Chiide Harold, who was also the sire ofCharmer, grand-dam of Metal. It will be interesting lor followers of breeding to watch the result ot Mr. Johnson’s enterprise in mating the aged and doomed mare with, liis young and promising sire.