Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2021 i Turf Monthly

Hurtle and James Fisher attended Lord Londesborough’s stud dispersal in 1860 and purchased four additional mares. The most expensive was Gildermire who cost 1260 guineas which was the top price paid for a mare at the sale. Gildermire was to die early in a fire at Fisher’s Maribyrnong Stud but not before she had left her mark on Australian breeding that we will get to a little later. At the same sale, Fisher also purchased Juliet (850 gns), Marchioness (630 gns) and Rose De Florence (380 gns). Marchioness was particularly notable in that she had won the 1855 Epsom Oaks. Hurtle Fisher also purchased the stallion Fisherman privately for 3000 guineas. He had won the Ascot Gold Cup over 20 furlongs (4000m) in both 1858 and 1859. Despite Fisherman going…

Maribyrnong was unraced having suffered an injury during training. However, such were his bloodlines that he found himself at the NSW property of renowned breeder, Mr Andrew Town. Despite his lack of success on the track, Maribyrnong was to become the best sire son of the great Fisherman. In all, he was to produce 35 stakes winners including Richmond, a champion of his time. Richmond was to himself become a great stallion producing 14 stakes winners, but we will get to him in a moment. Among his stakes-winners, Maribyrnong produced Derby winners in Bargo, Miss Jessie, Richmond, and Woodlands, Melbourne Cup winner, Calamia, and two Sydney Cup winners in Imperial and Cunnamulla. Maribyrnong was a son of Fisherman out of the original Fisher mare, Rose De Florence who we will…

Wakeful is another of those racehorses that seem to transcend racing. Her name is synonymous with not only racing but was known throughout the community. The esteem in which she is held is regularly on display as we hear a mare referred to as “the best since Wakeful.” Wakeful was by Trenton our of the Robinson Crusoe mare, Insomnia. She was trained by Hugh Munro and ridden in most of her races by Frank Dunn. Owned by Mr Charles Leslie Macdonald, Wakeful was quite out of the ordinary in that she did not race until a 4yo. On 1 September 1900, she ran second at her first start and was also unplaced in her next start over a month later. She was then sent out for a break, but the…

Stay Inside won the 65th Golden Slipper and while there have certainly been more dominant displays, it was a very impressive victory nonetheless. It will go down in history as the first Slipper to be run a week late following the big wet in Sydney and much of NSW that led to devastating flooding. This was not the first Slipper to be delayed, as we saw the race postponed in 1963 due to wet weather. That race was eventually held the following Wednesday and won by Pago Pago, arguably one of the most talented of all Slipper winners. We can wonder if this is a good omen for the future of this year’s winner. Stay Inside is one of the most lightly raced of all Golden Slipper winnings, going into…

Fisherman was a remarkable horse winning 70 races including 26 Queen’s Plate trophies and two Ascot Gold Cups. It was reported that after winning one of his Gold Cups, he was saddled up for the next race, a Queen’s Plate over 3 miles and duly won that as well. Fisherman ran unsuccessfully as a 2yo but at three won 23 from 34 races including the Queen’s Vase at Ascot and the Cumberland Plate. At four, he raced 34 times for 22 wins and at five, won 21 from 32. He was regarded as the best stayer in the UK and is arguably one of the greatest racehorses ever to enter stud in Australia. His longevity also makes something of a mockery of the number of starts modern stallions tend to…

Winfreux was a popular horse from the 1960’s. He had two unplaced starts in Melbourne as a 2yo but showed his ability as a 3yo by winning his first four starts at that age. A second in the Wagstaff Handicap at Caulfield broke his winning streak, but it was the stepping-stone to take the horse to Brisbane for their Winter Carnival. He proved he was up to the best in Brisbane at his first start beating Persian King in a Welter at Eagle Farm before being sent out at 16 to 1 in the field of 25 in the 1965 Stradbroke carrying only 47kgs with Hall of Fame lightweight jockey WA “Billy Smith” on board for the first time. Winfreux romped away with the race beating another lightweight in Harmonise…

Trident was the champion son of Robinson Crusoe out of the imported British mare, Cocoanut. He had been bred by leading trainer Mr Etienne De Mestre who purchased a lot of the stock of the Fishers and had been CB Fisher’s trainer for some time. De Mestre rose to fame as the trainer of the first Melbourne Cup winner, Archer and has been inducted into the Australian racing Hall of Fame. Trident was owned by the Honourable Mr James White. Trident won his first race start as a 2yo on Boxing Day of 1885 in the Open AJC Chairman’s Handicap over 10 furlongs (2000m). He did not start again until March when he was taken to Melbourne to run third in the VRC Sires’ Produce behind Maddelina before running second…

Hurtle Fisher was a popular figure around the racetracks and throughout Victoria and South Australia. He was successful in his pastoral endeavours although his business interests were closely tied with the rest of the family. With such a powerful position in Adelaide society, Hurtle, Charles and their older brother James took up pastoral leases that were allocated by the Crown. They were ideally situated to obtain these leases and they provided the growing needs of the developing city with sheep and cattle with the name Fisher being associated with a new line of the Merino sheep. Their dealings were rumoured to have not always been entirely ethical. At the time quotas were imposed on stocking of land held under lease, and in 1944 the brothers were charged with understocking their…

Robinson Crusoe was by Angler, the son of Fisherman, out of Chrysolite, the daughter of Stockwell and Juliet. He raced for his entire 2yo season being known as the Chrysolite colt. He ran fifth at his first start in the Maribyrnong Plate, and was then second in both the Ascot Vale Stakes and VRC Sires’ Produce. Sent to Sydney he dominated the AJC Carnival winning the Champagne Stakes, Breeder’s Plate and Sires’ Produce within the space of five days. He returned as a 3yo to win the AJC Derby and AJC Mares’ Produce before boarding the City Of Melbourne to journey south for the VRC Derby along with other of his owner CB Fisher’s horses. A ferocious storm struck, sinking the Dandenong and damaging numerous other ships. The City Of…

Poseidon is another Hall Of Fame racehorse that owes his heritage in part to Hurtle Fisher. His third dam was the important daughter of Maribyrnong in Iolanthe. He was a son of the imported stallion, Positano by St Simon who was a top stallion producing 27 stakes-winners in his career. Positano had raced in Australia winning the 1897 AJC Spring Stakes. Although Poseidon was clearly the best of his runners, he also produced two other Melbourne Cup winners in Lord Cardigan (1903) and Piastre (1912). When the Neotsfield Stud of RH Dangar was dispersed in 1904, the mare Jacinth with a foal at foot was sold to the Moses brothers for 400 guineas. Later that colt, to be known as Poseidon, was purchased by Mr Hugh Robert Denison, for 500…

The champion Queensland filly helped cement the reputation of leading Queensland thoroughbred stud, Lyndhurst and the Kruger brothers’ fairly new stallion, Smokey Eyes who was to go on to set records for the number of winners he produced. Although founded in 1857, it was not until almost exactly 100 years later, in 1956, that Ted and Percy Kruger purchased the property outside of Warwick and commenced a new chapter in the history of the farm. Eye Liner was from only the third crop of the imported Irish stallion, by Stardust from Celestial Light. Born in 1947, Smokey Eyes was a grandson of Hyperion and arguably a more important representative of that line in Queensland than the great Star Kingdom that was making his mark throughout Australia at the same time.…