NIGHTLY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 September 1938, Page 9

NIGHTLY

A GREAT STAYER. (By “The Administrator.”) The Wairarapa over a period of many years can claim to have had at the service of breeders many racing stallions that are well bred and fit to take then place in any breeding centre. Nightly, who has been successfully raced by Mr J. A. McDougall, of Martinborough, although trained at Riccarton, has been returned to the Wairarapa for stud duty. The outstanding Performances to credit including the N.Z. Derby, Canterbury Cup, both over 1 2 miles, and the Randwick Plate at Sydney, 2 miles, are ample evidence that Nightly was a stayer, while he also won over a mile and a quarter, which distance the late G. G. Stead always maintained was the supreme test of a racehorse’s excellence. Nightly is by Night Raid, the sire of the great Phar Lap, also of Nightmarch, who was just as superior to the rest of his contemporaries as Phar Lap was to him. Phai Lap’s performances need no elaboration, but it can be mentioned that Nightmarch won the Melbourne Cup, N.Z. Cup, big handicaps at the A.J.C. meetings at Randwick besides numerous w.f.a races in New Zealand and Australia. He has now successfully started his stud career. Nightly is from Miss Muriel, who was sired by Lucullus, a horse imported to New Zealand by ’the late J. O. Hayward, of Greytown. It is interesting to relate that Lucullus, who was a German bred horse, was offered for sale in England just when the war broke out in 1914, and as everything was in a turmoil, nobody was keen to buy, and Mr Hayward acquired Lucullus very cheaply for considerably less than 100 guineas. The horse was shipped to New Zealand and taken to Greytown, but as meagre encouragement was given by breeder's, Lucullus was sold to Mr Walters, of Auckland, and was an immediate stud success. Miss Muriel’s dam, Lady Bob, was by the wonderful Soult (a stallion Mr Hayward imported many years earlier, and strangely enough he also sold this horse to Mr Walters) and his stud career will be remembered for his all round ability in siring stayers, sprinters, early two-year-old winners, classic and w.f.a. performers, besides steeplechasers, hurdlers and ponies. In the days when the Auckland Racing Club had pony races on its programme, the progeny of Soult were predominant and these ponies also competed successfully among the horses. Lady Bob s dam was First Love, by Nordenfeldt, one of Muskets best sons, and again it is apparent how the Musket line breeds on. In the vicinity of half a century ago Mr Hayward introduced Derringer (by Musket) to the Wairarapa district, and as Musket’s stock, and sons, were proving so successful at the stud, breeders in England were anxious to get the blood back again. An enquiry was received for Derringer and he was sold and went to the Old Country. Trenton was another great son of Musket to go home, and included in the progeny he sired there was Torpoint, who was the best stayer of his day in England. Carbine, for whom the Duke of Portland gave 13,000 guineas, set the seal on his fame by begetting Spearmint, an English Derby winner. Spearmint in turn was the sire of Spion Kop, who repeated Spearmint's performance. Felstead, Spion Kop’s son, also won the race, and is now one of the leading sires in England. It was little thought when Carbine was sold as a yearling in Auckland such interesting turf history would be recorded many years afterwards. In the pedigree of Nightly on his dam’s side this Musket blood is judiciously crossed with St Simon, through Soult, and for many years this has been regarded as ideal breeding. Its success has been demonstrated in countless instances.