Romance Lives In Famous Epsom Derby

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 263, 27 January 1928, Page 7

Romance Lives In Famous Epsom Derby

Love Story of Signorinetta’s Sire and Dam The cables last week informed the world of the death of the famous mare Signorinetta. Her passing recalls some of her wonderful turf successes, and it is a story tingsd with romance. Of the many romances linked up with the Derby there are few quite so beautiful as the story of Signorinetta. the lovely rtlly owned by the Cavaliere Ginistrelli. For Signorinetta was born of a veritable love match, the daughter of Signorina, one of the most brilliant two-year-olds ever seen. And mother and naughter were revered by the kindly old gentleman who owned and bred them with such an affection Indeed that money could not tempt him to part with either. After one of Signorina’s wonderful performances at Newmarket. the Cavaliere met Mr. Y. R. Graham, of the famous Yardley Stud, where Sterling Isola Bella and the great Isonoray were bred.

“GREATEST OF HIS TIME!” How well, by the way. I recall going to dinner one night with Mr. Graham at his home in Birmingham, and, seeing a magnificent head mounted over the dining room door, asking in my youthful innocence what horse that head belonged to, and Mr. Graham s booming reply. “That is the head of Isenomy, my boy, the greatest horse of his time.” Mr. Graham, big and burly, a fine type of the British yeoman, met the Cavaliere on the High Street at the headquarters of racing. “Come into this bank,” he said to the Italian sportsman, pointing to Hammond's bank at Newmarket, and count out 20,000 sovereigns, and you shall have them for her.” 'But no,” replied the Cavaliere. ”1 love my mare. I cannot sell.” Signorina fared ill as a three-year-eld, and was sick when beaten by the

Huke of Portland’s Memoir for the Oaks, but solatium came to the Cavaiiere in the after years, for her daughter beat another horse for the pike’s when she won the sensational Wby of 1008.

THE CAVALIERE’S BELIEF The Cavaliere was not a wealthy and did not own a string of racehorses; he could not even afford , re ht a decent paddock for his be'oved Signorina. He had just a small Property and a little orchard adjoina brickfield. But that from his ' u ourite mare he would breed a Derby inner the old man fondly believed, h k own ideas about breeding; . ho, d that no union would produce *d 4 ' real r »'-ehorse unless the sire and ‘ l , m showed great affection for each other. lw , S f'lh his own words, let the story th» < .°* Signorina’s love affair, with \nn , cide ntal mention that Sir .las. st. , s . Chaleureux, a great natural ner JeP ** n ,lis racin S days and a win--o.h °* *he Cesarewitch among many J u Sood races, was at stud at Newno* * ar from the Cavaliere’-s ! ®all property. love AT first sight Coi? ne day ' wrote Ginistrelli to John Us ’ “Chaleureux was out for his Wa, u^ norningr s walk, and passing, as adin- • Wont * through the brickfield K e J my property. All of a sudden L: ® ta fted to neigh as never horse a *»ghed before. and • ? lare was out in the paddock, hearin S the voice of her lover answered him, and this mot ent took place every time they Sl .i “ ns 'flerins all this as more than from ie . nt data * I persevered, confident "r£L the very fir st that I was not far unin and that the result of such a £ op n would be an exceptional animal " • Signorina waa p&e&ogi-

enal for speed; Chaleureux was the same for stamina and sturdiness, and I was more than convinced that by such a discovery of Nature’s way I should be more than rewarded for the good care I had taken of my wellloved favourite.” So was born Signorinetta, and though she had little .better than a small orchard to run about in, the little filly that ran round the apple tree beat the Duke of Portland’s best, with his ranging pastures and ideal stud farms, in the greatest classical race of the world. And on that great day the old cavalier’s eyes were dimmed with tears of joy as he was called on to shake hands with the Queen, who verily cast a glad. eye on him as she comgratulated him on Signorinetta. Be sure he also received a warm handshake from King Edward VII., who himself was to win the great race again the following year with Minoru. LORD ROSEBERY’S DERBYS There is romance, too, in Lord Rosebery’s first of three Derby successes. It was once said at a contest for the chancellorship of Oxford University that Lord Curzon took the great honours of the university, whereas Lord Rosebery, addicted to ' horse-racing, left without taking a degree. But Lord Rosebery became Prime Minister of England, and three times won the Derby, and much as Lord Curzon is to be admired, these are marks that will take some wiping out. Whether there is any truth or not in the story that in his varsity days Rosebery said lie'" had three ambitions in life—to marry the richest heiress in England, to win the Derby, and to be Prime Minister—the fact remains that he accomplished all three. A story is told of how he was properly squelched by the 12-year-old daughter of a Clyde engineer, with whom he had dropped in for a chat. The girl was busy with her home lessons. “What are you doing?” cheerfully asked the Primrose Earl. “I’m daeing ma schule lessons for the mornin’.” “I doubt *t I could do them, said the peer, looking at the slate. ‘“Then,” said the child, with conviction, “ye wouldna’ . pass the fourth standard, an’ ye’d be pit i’ the bottom class wi’ th* wee bairns.” Good Average To ride 591 winners in 3,554 mounts and to win races worth £200,000 since he began his career as a jockey, is the wonderful record of the crack "V ictorian horseman, W. Duncan. That total is up to the New Year meeting at Flemington on January 2, and it comprises the whole of the races in which Duncan has ridden since he had his first mount in public on Linass in the Altona Handicap at Williamstown on November 8, 1915. He has been riding about 12 years, and as he is a natural lightweight. he has never had to take off more than 31b. An outlay of £ 1 on all his mounts would have returned the sum of £2,062 10s 6d. Against that £2,964 would have been lost on his other mounts, leaving a loss of £331 9s 6d. Duncan’s success has been phenomenal, yet his regular followers have lost. Sydney’s “Stayers” That Sydney is badly off in respect of genuine stayers is brought home rather forcibly by the fact that of our seven entrants for the Australian Cup two are hurdlers, and a third, St. Anthony, has been schooled over the jumps. The hurdlers mentioned are Grosvenor and Coolah Hatton, and if you asked anyone who attended Menangle races whether Coolah Hatton could be considered a possibility, you would be inviting a laugh at your own expense. On occasions horses improve beyond all knowledge in the space of a couple of months, but Coolah Hatton is rising ten years old. and in the Menangle Jumpers’ Flat race he was tailed off throughout. If he is taken south it may be only as a companion for Black Duchess, another of J. E. Smedlev’s horses. Grosvenor is an entirely different proposition. Always regarded as a “dud” on the flat, though a champion hurdler, he surprised by finishing third to Lady Constance arid Night Heron in the A.J.C. November Handicap of a mile and a-half. That brought him into the picture as a Summer Cup possibility, but subsequently he went slightly amiss and did not take his place in the field for that race. He is doing well again, however, and m a race like the Australian Cup might be plodding along when a lot of the others are tiring.