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Scottish Chief
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A good, solid performer on the racecourse, Scottish Chief made his mark as an excellent sire of broodmares. Ten classic races were won by the progeny of Scottish Chief mares between 1885 and 1894, which elevated Scottish Chief to the status of one of the dominant broodmare sires of his era.
Scottish Chief was bred and raced by James Merry, and foaled at Merry's East Acton Stud. Merry, born in Scotland, inherited his money from his father, who went from itinerant salesman to amassing a fortune by exploiting iron ore from the Ayrshire hills in north Scotland. Merry later assumed and expanded his father's interests, becoming a leading ironmaster and owner of extensive works in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. As the son of a wealthy merchant, was able to indulge in various sporting interests, including racing and cockfighting. He reportedly kept a fighting flock of over a thousand birds, and made considerable sums in betting on his avian fighters. Before he ever owned a racehorse, he rode as a gentleman jockey in Scotland. In 1842, at age 37, Merry was drawn into the circle of owners -- such as Lord Eglinton, and the Messrs. Meiklam and Bell -- and trainers -- such as William I'Anson (see Blink Bonny and Blair Athol) and the Dawsons -- at Gullane, Scotland ("the Malton of Scotland"). He placed several horses with George Dawson, whose sons would become famous trainers in Scotland, and later Yorkshire. Cable, the first horse he ever ran in England, raced unsuccessfully in the Liverpool Cup of 1843. In 1847 he purchased his first good runner, Chanticleer (by Birdcatcher), a winner of £3,460 for Merry in 1848, with an additional estimated £50,000 in wagers Merry successfully placed on his horse.
Merry's first classic runner was the beautiful Hobbie Noble (by Pantaloon), purchased from Lord John Scott for the huge sum of 6,500 guineas after his juvenile successes at Ascot and Newmarket. But Hobbie could only run fourth in the Derby of 1852, the wettest on record, and there was some notion among the public and racing press that Hobbie had been poisoned by a notorious nobbler before the race, although that was never proved. That year Merry moved his horses from Gullane to William Day at Woodyates, but that connection was short-lived, and Merry leased Russley Park stable at Lambourn, installing John Prince as his private trainer. When Merry purchased most of Lord John Scott's racing string in 1857, a sale organized by George Dawson's son, Matthew, the horses, and Matthew, went to Russley, where Dawson assisted John Prince. When Prince resigned as Merry's trainer in 1859, Mat Dawson took over Merry's horses. The Merry-Dawson association was extremely successful until 1870, when Dawson moved to Newmarket to become a public trainer. Derby winner Thormanby, the flying Dundee, Two Thousand Guineas winner Macgregor, and the grand stayer Buckstone (dead-heated with the great Tim Whiffler for the Ascot Gold Cup) were among their triumphs. Later, with trainer Robert Peck, Merry would have another good horse in Derby and Ascot Gold Cup winner Doncaster, and in Scottish Chief's famous daughter, MARIE STUART. In the early 1870s Merry faced declining health, and between 1873 and 1875 his breeding stud and racing stable were dispersed via auction and private sales. He died in 1877.
Lord of the Isles, the sire of Scottish Chief, was foaled at the Sheffield Paddocks in Yorkshire in 1852. A handsome bright bay colt, that "stood a little upright," but "lengthy and deep in his fore-ribs", he was by the great stallion Touchstone, winner of the St. Leger, two Doncaster Cups, two Ascot Gold Cups, and Britain's leading sire three times before 1852. Dam of Lord of the Isles was the Pantaloon mare Fair Helen, a half-sister to the great mare Alice Hawthorn. Lord of the Isles was a full brother to Lady Macdonald, who became the dam of 1869 Oaks victress Brigantine (by Buccaneer).
Lord of the Isles was purchased at auction as a yearling by trainer William Day for Merry, and sent to Day's Woodyates yard, where he proved even-tempered and "showed much courage" in his trials. As a juvenile, with Day up, he won Goodwood's Lavant Stakes by a head, beating the good filly Paradigm (who broke down shortly thereafter and was later dam of Lord Lyon, Achievement, and other good ones), and several days later took the Biennial. Those were the only races for him that season, "being kept specially for his two spring engagements -- the Two Thousand and the Derby."
Lord of the Isles won the Two Thousand Guineas, with nine horses starting, beating Kingstown and St. Hubert into second and third by a neck in an exciting finish that brought Merry a great deal of money in wagers. In the Derby he was a disappointing third to wild card Wild Dayrell and Kingstown, but was just beaten by Kingstown by a short head. At the time of his defeat, rumor had it that he was not properly trained for the race, and one later writer said he had sore shins from the Derby, but Day, in his Reminiscences, said the horse coughed about ten days before the race, but otherwise was fit and healthy. Whatever the reason, shortly after the race Merry engaged Prince as his new trainer, and moved his horses to Russley Park. Lord of the Isles went on to run a bad fifth in the Goodwood Cup, and in August won York's Knavesmire Stakes by half a length, his final race. He was retired to Russley as a stallion. His first big winner was Dundee (1858), a brilliant juvenile winner of Epsom's Woodcote Stakes, Newmarket's Hopeful Stakes, Goodwood's Findon Stakes, and Liverpool's Two-Year-Old Plate, and second to Kettledrum in the Derby at three. Lord of the Isles also got stakes winners Donna del Lago (later sent to Hungary), Maid of Lom, and other winners.
Miss Ann, the dam of Scottish Chief was not bred as regally. Her sire, The Little Known (1836, by Muley), was a full brother to Derby winner Little Wonder. But since that was the only race Little Wonder ever won, and he sired nothing of note, this was a lackluster familial connection. The Little Known was second to Charles XII in the Roxburgh Gold Cup at Kelso, failed to place in another race the same day, and was retired from the turf with that one day of racing the sum of his career on the turf. Dam of Miss Ann was the unraced Bay Missy, a daughter of Two Thousand Guineas and Derby champion Bay Middleton.
Miss Ann won twelve races, including Goodwood's Chesterfield Cup and Edinburgh's Caledonian Cup during her racecourse career. She cost the colt Joe Miller the victory in the 1852 Great Metropolitan at Epsom when she knocked that colt over in a roughly run race.
Miss Ann was blessed with a fine physique, having powerful hindquarters. She was described as being a 'lengthy, roomy mare at all points and showed her quality." She possessed a high, almost trotter-like knee action, which she passed onto her son. From his sire, Scottish Chief inherited his bright bay color and good temperament. Unusual in a bay, Scottish Chief did not have black on his legs, an anomaly which was passed on to some of his descendants, notably some of the offspring of his grandson Melton. Scottish Chief had a long, sloping shoulder, "grand depth of girth...a shapely, honest, head, and a muscular neck," and moved with a "sweeping and elastic action." To complete the package, Scottish Chief was renowned for his docile and willing temperament.
Scottish Chief on the Turf
Scottish Chief, trained by Matthew Dawson, raced only seven times in his career. At two, he won the Chesterfield Stakes at Newmarket, was second in the Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood to the French filly Fille de l'Air, and was third in the July Stakes at Newmarket to Cambuscan.
At three, Scottish Chief was a good third to Blair Athol in the Derby. At Ascot, he completed a rare feat by winning the New Biennial Stakes and Ascot Gold Cup on the same day. In the Gold Cup, he defeated The Little Stag (winner of the Epsom Cup and Chester Stewards' Cup) and Lord Zetland (by Voltigeur): Lord Clifden, the previous season's St. Leger winner, ran unplaced. That concluded Scottish Chief's career on the turf.
Scottish Chief in the Stud
Scottish Chief stood stud at two farms in England during his second career as a sire: William Blenkiron's Middle Park Stud, near Eltham in Kent, and George Thompson's Moorland Stud at Skelton, near York. The former stud was home to Scottish Chief's racecourse rival, Blair Athol. Scottish Chief arrived at Moorlands in 1871, replacing the recently sold Lord Clifden, purchased by Thomas Gee to become the foundation stallion for his new Dewhurst Stud. Two years later, in 1873, Gee purchased Scottish Chief at the public auction of Merry's breeding stock for 6,500 guineas. At the advanced age of twenty-two, in 1883, Scottish Chief was sold to French breeder Edmund Blanc, standing the remainder of his stud career in France.
As a stallion, Scottish Chief sired good horses but not with any consistency. He did not make the top ten in the leading sires list in the U.K. until 1871, when he ranked eighth. In 1873, the year of MARIE STUART'S triumphs, he was third, behind Blair Athol and Stockwell, and was second behind Blair Athol in 1877, when he had a number of good juveniles, such as CHILDERIC and STRATHFLEET running. Scottish Chief got good winners of rich two-year-old stakes, and youngsters that won or placed well at classic distances at age three. In the breeding shed, his daughters were far superior to his sons, most of which failed to achieve success as sires.
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Marie Stuart beating Doncaster in the St. Leger, both owned by James Merry
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The best horse sired by Scottish Chief was undoubtedly Merry's high-strung filly MARIE STUART (1870). Named for Scotland's ill-fated queen, Marie Stuart was a striking chestnut out of the Cowl mare Morgan La Faye. Second dam of Marie Stuart was Oaks winner Miami. A half-sister to Marie Stuart was Lady Morgan, whose daughter Morganette would produce the classic winners Galtee More and Ard Patrick.
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By the time MARIE STUART went to the races, the Merry string was trained by Robert Peck. A nervous filly, troubled by curbs, she started unfit as a juvenile, beaten by a neck by Acropolis in Epsom's Stanley Stakes and Acorn Stakes. At Ascot she took the New Stakes by four lengths, and the next day beat the Duke of Westminster by a head in the Biennial Stakes, coming out of the race shin-shore, and with her blistered curbs causing trouble. She ran in Stockbridge's Mottisfort Stakes lame, and barely beat the other three youngsters in the race, after which she was put away for a rest. She came back out in the Middle Park Plate, although she had been coughing a week before the race, and finished back in the field.
As a three-year-old, MARIE STUART was both versatile and dominant. She suffered a "severe sexual attack," presumably cramps, a week before the One Thousand Guineas, and ran fourth to three fillies she subsequently proved she could easily beat. She won the Oaks at 1-1/2 miles in a canter, trouncing a field of seventeen, and then dropped back to a mile to easily win the Coronation Stakes at Ascot. She marched through victories in the Yorkshire Oaks, Newmarket Oaks, and the Doncaster St. Leger. In the latter race, Marie Stuart won by a head from her stablemate, Derby winner Doncaster. Her exertions took so little out of her she was brought out again just days later to take the Park Hill Stakes over the St. Leger course. Her only other defeat at age three was the Cesarewitch, where, burdened with an extra 14 pounds, she could not catch King Lud.
MARIE STUART ran once, unsuccessfully in the Ascot Gold Cup, at age four. As a five-year-old, she was second by half a length to Innishowen in the Manchester Cup, conceding him 47 pounds! She took the Gold Vase at Ascot, defeating Carnelion, Kaiser, and Peut-Etre. MARIE STUART was sold for 3,500 guineas to fellow Scot William Stuart Stirling-Crawfurd mid-season in 1875, when Merry decided to sell off his bloodstock due to his declining health. She then won the Brighton Cup over two miles, conceding weight to Louise Victoria and Kaiser, and concluded her career by dead-heating for second place with Louise Victoria to Fraulein (receiving 7 pounds from MARIE STUART) for the Gold Cup at Doncaster, with the previous season's One Thousand Guineas, Oaks, and St. Leger heroine Apology unplaced.
Although MARIE STUART was a "signal failure" in the breeding shed, two of her daughters were useful producers. Queen of Pearls (1887), a chestnut by Isonomy, became the dam of Croix du Sud (by Le Sancy), winner of the Prix Eclipse at two in 1900 and second to Jacobite in the Prix Royal Oak at three. At the age of twenty, in 1890, Marie Stuart foaled a full sister to Queen of Pearls. A chestnut like her dam and sister, she was cleverly named Mary Seaton, in honor of the lady-in-waiting who devotedly served Marie Stuart during her royal mistress's years as Queen of France, Queen of Scotland, and long exile in England.
Mary Seaton, like her sister, was no racecourse performer. Her impact came at stud. Not only did she produce Manchester Cup winner Marajax, she was the dam of the important filly Merry Gal (1897) by Galopin. Merry Gal, a top-class stayer, won the Princess of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket, the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, and the Hardwicke Stakes at Ascot. She dead-heated for the victory with Sidus in the Doncaster Cup and finished second to St. Simon's daughter La Roche in the Oaks. She was later the dam of White Eagle (1905, by Gallinule), winner of the Woodcote Stakes, the City and Suburban Handicap and other races, and later a successful broodmare sire whose daughters produced Blandford, classic winner Royal Lancer and Flamingo, champion Myrobella, and Quick Thought.
MARIE STUART kept producing foals until well into her twenties. In 1893, she delivered a dead foal by Galliard, and in 1894 she produced her last, a colt by Tristan. She was destroyed soon after at the age of twenty-four.
MAID OF PERTH (1869), out of Lady Dot, by The Cure, was another top three-year-old filly for Scottish Chief, capturing the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, the Yorkshire Oaks, and the Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster. She was second to Lowlander in the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot as a four-year-old. Like Marie Stuart, she bred only modest winners. Her sister, ANDRELLA (1876) became the dam of Ascot Stakes winner Arlequin (1893, by Little Duck).
Merry's colt KING OF THE FOREST (1868), a bay out of Lioness, by Ascot Gold Cup and Doncaster Cup winner Fandango, was the best of Scottish Chief's sons. He was a smart two-year-old, his biggest scores of his eight wins coming in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster and the Queen's Stand Plate against older horses. At three, KING OF THE FOREST was victorious in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Ascot, the Goodwood Derby, the Bentinck Memorial Stakes, and the Princess of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket. He placed third to Bothwell and Sterling in the Two Thousand Guineas and dead-heated with Albert Victor in the Derby, won by Favonius.
KING OF THE FOREST was not a success as a sire, but he did leave a daughter named Sunray (out of Sunshine by Thormanby), the dam of a useful colt, Great Yorkshire Handicap winner Springtime (1888), and third dam of the significant stallion Phalaris. Sunray's descendants also included major stakes winners Energetic and Eager, the latter sire of Electra, a winner of the One Thousand Guineas in 1909. Another KING OF THE FOREST daughter, Wood Anemone was the dam of Royal Fern (1881), winner of Newmarket's Grand Duke Michael Stakes and the Newmarket St. Leger, and other good races to age four.
LADY OF LYONS (1867), a full sister to KING OF THE FOREST, was second in the Weston Stakes at Bath as a two-year-old and at three captured the Bentinck Memorial Stakes at Goodwood. She produced no notable offspring.
Another good racing son of Scottish Chief was his Hungarian-bred son TAURUS (1879), a chestnut out of the Thunderbolt mare Chilham. As a two-year-old, running for the Baltazzi brothers, Taurus was victorious in the Hamburger Criterium. At three, Taurus took the Union-Rennen at Hoppegarten, the Oesterreichisches Derby at Vienna, and dead-heated for the victory with Trachenberg in the Deutsches Derby. In 1883 he was purchased by the Hungarian Imperial Stud at Kisber and in three years at stud got a couple of foals there, then vanished from the records.
Scottish Chief sired several good sons who won useful races. GLENGARRY (1875), a chestnut colt out of Crocus, by Thormanby, was victorious in the Prince of Wales's Stakes as a three-year-old. FITZJAMES (1875, from Hawthorn Bloom by Kettledrum) won the Princes of Wales's Stakes at York at age two, his only season. MERRY GO ROUND (1877), out of Spinaway did not start until age three, when he won Newmarket's Column Produce Stakes and the Newmarket Stakes and placed second in the Craven Stakes.
CHILDERIC (1875) was exquisitely bred, his dam, Gertrude (by Saunterer) being a half-sister to Spinaway and Wheel of Fortune, both winners of the One Thousand Guineas and Oaks. Bred and raced by Lord Falmouth, CHILDERIC won seven races, including the Prendergast Stakes and Chesterfield Stakes at two and the Doncaster Stakes at age three. He placed third to Sefton in the Derby and second to Jannette in the St. Leger. Retired to Falmouth's Mereworth stud, he got some winners, including Armida (1882), a winner of the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood.
NAPSBURY (1877), a chestnut colt out of Mandragora by Rataplan, was a winner of the Great Yorkshire Stakes as a three-year-old, and later got some winners, including Nappa (1884), a winner of the Great Ebor Handicap. ORIENT (1878), a colt out of Affinity, by Young Melbourne, raced in Germany, where he took the Union-Rennen in 1881. THE CROFTER (1882, from Plague by The Palmer) was foaled in Ireland. Owned by L. Hone, The Crofter won the Madrid Handicap at The Curragh in 1885 as a three-year-old.
One Scottish Chief son with an influence on future generations was PURSEBEARER (1879), a bay colt out of the Stockwell mare Thrift. He was a half-brother to the versatile Tristan, winner of many races, including the July Cup and Ascot Gold Cup. PURSEBEARER was a winner of the Gimcrack Stakes at York as a juvenile and was second in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at three. PURSEBEARER sired many winners but nothing of remarkable class. He was eventually exported to the United States, where he stood at John Jacob Astor's Ferncliff Stud in Rhinebeck, New York. A few Pursebearer mares became noteworthy producers. Magnes, winner of the Oesterreichisches Stutenpreis and second in the Deutsches Derby was out of the Pursebearer mare Thriftless. His U.S.-born daughter, Unsightly, became the dam of King James (1905, by Plaudit). U.S. Champion older male horse in 1909, by virtue of victories in the Metropolitan and Brooklyn Handicaps, Toronto Cup Handicap, Sheepshead bay Handicap, and several other stakes. King James was later a successful sire of stakes winners, his male line continuing through to multiple champion Dr. Fager.
KANTAKA (1880) was a splendidly bred colt by Scottish Chief, for he was out of Seclusion, by Tadmor, making him a half-brother to Derby winner Hermit. KANTAKA inherited none of the racing prowess of his famous elder half-sibling and was exported to America for stud duty. As a stallion in America, KANTAKA got several good stakes winners, including Baron Pepper, Black Venus, and Tipstaff, while daughters of Kantaka produced several American stakes winners, including Black Broom, Chickasaw, and Sly Fox, the latter a winner of the 1898 Preakness Stakes.
Scottish Chief's Broodmare Daughters
Four daughters of Scottish Chief produced six horses that between them captured ten English classics. Two of his daughters were multiple classic producers. In addition, several sons out of Scottish Chief mares became important broodmare sires themselves.
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Mowerina
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One of Scottish Chief's multiple classic-producing daughters was MOWERINA (1876). She was bred by Ott Scavenius and foaled in Denmark. Her pedigree was hard to fault. Her dam, Stockings, by Stockwell, was out of the Melbourne mare Go-Ahead, a full sister to English Triple Crown winner West Australian. Lord Rossmore purchased MOWERINA and it was for him she initially raced. In 1881 he sold MOWERINA to William Cavendish-Bentinck, the young 6th Duke of Portland, who was impressed not only by her speed and hardiness, but by the opinion of fellow peer, Lord Falmouth, who believed the Danish-bred filly was one of the finest broodmare prospects in England.
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MOWERINA raced for a total of five seasons in England, winning sixteen races, including the Portland Plate at Doncaster and the Molyneux Cup at Liverpool. Upon the conclusion of her racing career she was sent to join the broodmare band at the Duke's Welbeck Abbey Stud in Nottinghamshire, where she did at age thirty in 1906.
MOWERINA'S first foal was the bay filly Modwena, by Galopin, foaled in 1883. She won nine races in her career, including the Portland Plate at Doncaster and the Chesterfield Stakes at Newmarket. Modwena produced nothing of merit as a broodmare, but was tail-female ancestress of Nyrcos, winner in France of the Prix du Conseil Municipal and placed in the Prix du Jockey Club, Prix Royal-Oak, and Washington D.C. International.
Donovan, MOWERINA'S 1886 colt by Galopin, won eighteen of twenty-one starts, including Newmarket's July Stakes, the Epsom Derby and the Doncaster St. Leger, and over £55,000 in prize money, then a world record. His son Velasquez (1894, from Vista by Macaroni) was, like his sire, a superior juvenile winner, and as an older horse won the Champion Stakes twice, the Eclipse Stakes, and other races. Donovan also got Pfaueninsel, winner of the 1897 Preis der Diana in Germany. Donovan's daughters produced the classic winners Diophon, Diadem, Dionysos, and the good stayer Radium.
The small filly Semolina (1887, by St. Simon) was MOWERINA'S second classic champion. She won a total of thirteen races, including the One Thousand Guineas. Retired to Welbeck as a broodmare, she bred Warsop (by Carbine), dam of Wandersman, a Union-Rennen winner, and Hasty (by Isinglass), tail-female ancestress of successful stakes winners. Her son Sir Edgar (1898), by Kendal, was a winner of the Dee Stakes at Chester. Sold to J. R. O'Connor, master of Cashel Stud in County Tipperary, Ireland, Sir Edgar became a leading sire there, with Irish Oaks victress May Edgar among his progeny. Semolina's brother, Raeburn (1890) beat the champion runner Isinglass in the Lancashire Plate; he was sold to Hungary after two seasons of stud in England.
The other daughter of Scottish Chief to produce multiple classic winners was THISTLE (1875), a bay out of Derby winner Wild Dayrell's daughter The Flower Safety. William Cowper-Temple, whose stepfather was British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, bred Thistle. She won four races, including the Findon Stakes at Goodwood. As a broodmare THISTLE was the property of Lord Alington, who raced his horses in partnership with Sir Frederick Johnstone. THISTLE produced ten foals, among them English Triple Crown winner Common (1888, by Isonomy), and Doncaster St. Leger winner Throstle (1891, by Petrarch). Common got one classic winner, Nun Nicer, and some stakes winners, but otherwise had little impact at stud. Throstle bred a useful colt, Missel Thrush (by Orme), whose grandson, the Ireland-based Jackdaw, was a leading sire of steeplechasers.
THISTLE was also the dam of the Ormonde colt, Goldfinch (1889), a winner of Ascot's New Stakes. In his one season at stud in England Goldfinch got the brilliant filly Chelandry, winner of the 1897 One Thousand Guineas, dam of 1910 Two Thousand Guineas winner Neil Gow, and and an important foundation matron. Sold to James Ben Ali Haggin and exported to Haggin's Rancho del Paso in California, Goldfinch got numerous stakes winners, including Old England, a Preakness Stakes winner.
THISTLE'S daughter Thistlefield (1884, by Springfield) was a good broodmare, producing multiple stakes winners Landrail (Rous Memorial, Doncaster Stakes, Great Northern St. Leger) and Bettyfield (Prendergast and Fitzwilliam Stakes). THISTLE produced her last recorded foal in 1899, a filly by Childwick. She was humanely put down in November, 1900 at the age of twenty-five.
Scottish Chief was broodmare sire of another Derby winner when his grandson Melton (1882, by Master Kildare) won the classic in 1885. The dam of Melton was VIOLET MELROSE (1875), a bay out of Violet, by Thormanby. VIOLET MELROSE won the Earl of Chester's Welter Plate among her six victories on the turf. Melton was a top juvenile runner, taking Ascot's New Stakes, the Middle Park Plate, and the Criterion Stakes. At age three he won the Doncaster St. Leger in addition to the Derby, and at age four demonstrated his versatility by taking the July Cup, Liverpool Autumn Cup and finishing a good second to the Duke of Westminster's dominant colt Ormonde in the Hardwicke Stakes at Ascot. Melton, who spent some time at stud in Italy before repatriation to England, got Best Man, the sire of the perennial Italian leading stallion, Signorino; Seaton Delaval, twice leading sire in New Zealand, and Sysonby, the champion juvenile runner in the U.S. His other good runners included Princess Melton, William Rufus, and Italian classic winners Goldoni and Hira.
Like his maternal grandsire Scottish Chief, Melton was destined to go down in breeding history as a superior broodmare sire. Three of his daughters -- Miss Mildred, Absurdity, and Yours -- produced five horses (La Roche, Jest, Black Jester, Our Lassie, and Your Majesty) that won six English classic races between them. Other notable performers out of Melton mares included Robert le Diable, American-bred Spur, American champion filly Constancy, South American champions Ocurrencia and Last Reason, and Grand National Steeplechase winner Jack Horner.
VIOLET MELROSE also established a strong female line through her daughters. Important performers who traced to her included English classic winners Brown Betty, Sun Stream, and Tideway, Argentine classic-winning filly Anatema, and American stakes winner and sire Dominant. VIOLET MELROSE was euthanized in 1904, at the age of twenty-nine.
VIOLET MELROSE had two younger full sisters: MISS MIDDLEWICK (1876), and MUIRNINN (1884). The unraced MISS MIDDLEWICK produced Grafton (by Galopin), a winner of the 1888 Doncaster Cup, after which she was purchased from Lord Rosslyn by the Duke of Portland for 3,000 guineas and installed at Welbeck. Bred to St. Simon, she produced Mrs. Butterwick (1890), who won the Epsom Oaks in the Portland colors. Mrs. Butterwick later produced Greatorex (by Carbine), ten times leading sire in South Africa; Wombwell (1903, by Isinglass), who took the Hardwicke Stakes; Phaleron (1906, by Gallinule), a winner of the Jockey Club Stakes, and several daughters that established successful, long-lived female lines. In 1893 His Reverence, a full brother to Mrs. Butterwick was born. His wins included Ascot's St. James's Palace Stakes. MISS MIDDLEWICK'S daughter Dubia (1892, by St. Simon or Ayrshire) was tail-female ancestress of good stakes winners, including W.S. Kilmer's Sun Briar, the U.S. champion juvenile in 1917, later a useful stallion, and his brother, Sunreigh, grandsire of U.S. Triple Crown winner Count Fleet.
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Muirninn
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By the early 1880s, Violet, the dam of VIOLET MELROSE and MISS MIDDLEWICK, was in Belgium, and it was there she foaled the third and last of her Scottish Chief fillies, the bay MUIRNINN, conceived during her sire's first stud season in France. She was exported to Britain in 1886 as a two-year-old, and her race record was unprepossessing, for she won only one race, the Stoneleigh Maiden Plate at Warwick. Despite her inferior racing talent, Muirninn was desirable as the full sister to two classic producers, and the Duke of Portland soon added her to the Welbeck broodmare band. With the sweet temperament inherited from her sire, MUIRNINN became a favorite with the staff at Welbeck.
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MUIRNINN was the dam of four moderate winners. It was her daughter by St. Simon, the non-winning Salvaich (1896), who kept her dam's name from disappearing into obscurity. John Wynford Phillips, the 1st Viscount St. Davids, purchased Salvaich in 1910. He had her bred to Cambridgeshire Stakes winner Marcovil, resulting in the bay colt My Prince (1911), a modest miler that went to stud in Ireland. Considered one of the best ever jumper sires in the U.K., he got three winners of the Aintree Grand National Steeplechase -- Gregalach, Royal Mail and Reynoldstown; the famous Easter Hero, twice winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the popular Prince Regent, successful in Ireland over fences and a winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and Greenogue Princess, second dam of the renowned 'chaser, Arkle.
MUIRNINN had another daughter, a full sister to Salvaich, named Katherine (1889). Exported to the United States, she became the second dam of the courageous American filly Comely, whose wins included a score in the Fall Highweight Handicap as a two-year-old over older horses.
Several other important racetrack performers were produced from daughters of Scottish Chief. One was Saraband, a top class two-year-old who went on to become a significant sire, both in England and Germany. The dam of Saraband was HIGHLAND FLING (1869), a bay out of Masquerade, by Lambourn. Highland Fling won several races, including Doncaster's Alexandra Plate at age two. Her finest offspring was the chestnut colt Saraband (1883) by Muncaster, the leading juvenile of his year. In the stud Saraband got Admiration, the dam of the champion filly Pretty Polly; Admiration and her daughters have been the tail-female source of dozens of major stakes winners, champions, and classic winners. Saraband also sired Siffleuse, a winner of the One Thousand Guineas and Yorkshire Oaks in 1893. In Germany, standing at Gestüt Römerhof , Saraband led that nation's sires list twice, in 1902 and 1903.
HIGHLAND FLING'S daughter Merry Dance, a filly by Doncaster, contributed much to American racing when her daughter, Cerito (by Lowland Chief), was exported to America. Cerito produced the stakes winners Stolen Moments and Ballot (broodmare sire of leading American stallion Bull Lea). Cerito's daughter Ballet Girl (by St. Leonards) produced stakes winner and successful American sire The Porter.
Pretty Dance, a full sister to Merry Dance, was the dam of Dancing Water. The latter produced the Domino filly Running Stream, a winner of the July Cup at Newmarket and dam of stakes winners Runnymede and Pebbles and notable American sire Ultimus. HIGHLAND FLING was also the dam of Superba (1881, by Sterling), winner of seven races in a row as a juvenile, including Newmarket's Chesterfield Stakes, Doncaster's Champagne Stakes, and the Rous Memorial Stakes, and took the Sandown Derby in four starts at age three. Superba late produced Pride (1892, by Merry Hampton), winner of Ascot Gold Vase and the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Ascot.
STRATHFLEET (1875), a younger sister to HIGHLAND FLING, was a high-class performer, winning the July Stakes as a two-year-old and placing second to Redwing in the Coronation Stakes and second to Jannette in the Yorkshire Oaks at three. As a broodmare for the Duke of Westminster, Strathfleet produced Cambusmore (1881, by Doncaster) a winner of the St. James's Palace Stakes at Ascot as a three-year-old. Cambusmore's three-quarters brother, Ben Strome (1886), by Bend Or, an indifferent performer on the turf, was sold to America where he also raced unsuccessfully, but at Major Thomas J. Carson's Dixiana Stud near Lexington, Kentucky, he became America's leading sire in 1903. Some of his best representatives included champion filly Eugenia Burch; Highball, champion two-year-old colt of 1903 and winner of the American Derby at three before a broken leg suffered during the running of the Seagate Stakes at Brighton Beach necessitated his destruction; and Roseben, the champion gelding that won 52 of 111 races and fondly known as "The Big Train" because of his exceptional weight-carrying abilities.
Another Scottish Chief mare was GRACE (1875 out of Virtue, by Stockwell). Her Hermit colt Gamin, was a winner of the Poule d'Essai des Poulains and Prix Royal-Oak in 1886. Gamin proved a top sire in France, some of his more notable progeny being Cambridge, a winner of the Prix de Diane, Gospodar, winner of the Prix du Jockey Club, and Beaujolais, winner of the Poule d'Essai des Poulains.
The mare CALEDONIA (1875), by Scottish Chief out of Cassidia, by Orlando, produced the Doncaster colt Culloden, winner of the Alagi dij at Budapest as a three-year-old in 1898. Another daughter of Scottish Chief to produce an important winner in Hungary was MUTINY (1882), out of Mutina, by Victorious. Mutiny's son, Mindig (1895, by Gaga), won both the Alagi dij and Milleniumi dij at Budapest. Mindig was an excellent stallion, siring classic winners in Austria, Hungary, and Poland. SPINNING JENNY (1878), a full sister to MERRY GO ROUND, out of Spinaway, and winner of a modest selling plate at Newmarket as a juvenile, was sold by Lord Falmouth to the Hungarian Imperial Stud at Kisber, where she produced Frangepan (1898), winner of the Jubilaums Preis in Austria and the Magyar St. Leger at age three. MAIBAUM (1882) was the dam of Minor Forfeit (1984, by Minting), who became a leading sire in South Africa in 1915-16.
Scottish Chief was sold in 1883 for only £400 to French breeder Edmund Blanc and sent to Blanc's newly purchased Bel-Ebat Stud, approximately 75 miles from Paris. Scottish Chief's useful siring days were behind him by this point, and none of the few foals he left in France did anything on the racecourse. Two fillies he got in France, HIMALAYA (1884, out of Pinnacle, by Adventurer) and JEUNESSE (1886, from Julienne, by Verdun) established successful tail-female lines. HIMALAYA became the ancestress of several Argentinean classic winners, namely Hechicero, Hijo Mio, and Lombardo, as well as Cachopa, a stakes winner in Brazil. JEUNESSE was ancestress of the Australian filly Lineage, winner in 1929 of the VRC Oaks and herself second dam of Adelaide Guineas and South Australian Derby winner Winemaker, VRC Derby winner Precept, and Don Pedro, the winner of several stakes in Australasia.
Scottish Chief's stud career in France was brief, for he died at the age of twenty-four in 1885. In England, his death did not even warrant a mention in the General Stud Book or any racing and breeding journals. He was seemingly forgotten. His name enjoyed resurgence when the year of his death brought forth the classic scores of his grandson Melton, marking the beginning of the decade-long dominance of the produce of his daughters in the English classics.
--Elizabeth Martiniak
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