Heroic

1933

4 October 1933
Famous Thoroughbred Studs
BIRTHPLACES OF CUP WINNERS
No. 1.
OAKLEIGH AND SUNNYSIDE, N.S.W.
FOR the next few weeks a general topic with regular racegoers and also many casual or even non-racegoers will be. "What will win the Cup?" The V.R.C. October meeting on Saturday will provide the final preliminary skirmishes before the racing carnival in Melbourne is in full swing, with Guineas day at Caulfield on 14th October. A week later will come the Caulfield Cup. Moonee Valley Racing Club will hold its chief meeting of the season on Saturday, 28th October. The V.R.C. Spring meeting will begin on Saturday, 4th November, when the Victoria Derby, Maribyrnong Plate, Cantala Stakes and Melbourne Stakes will be the principal events on the programme for that day.
Tuesday, 7th November, is Melbourne Cup day. The annual "racing fever" will reach its climax by about 3.30 on that afternoon. Of owners, trainers and jockeys much is written throughout the year, but of the breeders of race horses, without whom there would be no racing, there is rarely more than cursory mention - if that. In Australia there are about 5000 thoroughbred brood mares recorded in the Australian Stud Book. In addition to these are many more thoroughbred mares whose owners are remiss in not sending returns to the keeper of the Stud Book. The majority of such mares are owned by small breeders, men who have only one or very few more mares, and probably could tell little more about the Stud Book than they could of the Koran. Practically all owners of large studs in Australia, particularly in Victoria and New South Wales, make it a practice to send to the keeper of the Stud Book at the end of each stud season (which begins on 1st August with early foalings, and ends about the middle of December) a return of the foalings and services of their mares.
Many of the principal studs in New South Wales arc situated in the valleys drained by the Hunter, Goulburn, Page and other northern rivers. Singleton, Whittingham, Jerry's Plains, Denman, Aberdeen, Scone, Merriwa, Bylong, Kerrabee, Widden, are all centres of the thoroughbred industry. It is good sound horse country, with river flats, sweet limestone land, hills and valleys, plenty of sunshine and any amount of nip in the early morning air. Peter Pan, Hall Mark, Topical, Maltdale, Regal Son, Chatham and many other present-day horses whose names are familiar to racegoers, were reared in this district, which is the home of such sires as Magpie, Pantheon, Heroic, Brazen and other stallions of renown.
Doyen of Australian stud masters is Mr. William Thompson, now in his 80th year. For many years since he transferred from Widden. Mr. Thompson has owned the Yarraman Park stud, at Scone. Many high-class winners have been bred there. The latest to bring renown to the stud is Regal Son, who won the A.J.C. Metropoli tan last Monday. In 1872 Mr. Thompson made his debut as a breeder of thoroughbreds. Thus for more than sixty years he has been breeding horses, many of them of high standard. Among winners bred by him have been Posinatus (1913 Melbourne Cup), Enrythmic (Perth Cup, Caulfield Cup and Sydney Cup); Victoria Derby winners, Alawa and Eusebius; also Malt King, Long Tom (Viceroy's Cup, India), Popinjay, Desert Rose, Lager (dam of Eusebius and Regal Son) and many others. Nominally Eurythmic was bred by Master Noel Thompson, who at the time the flying chestnut was foaled in 1910, was only a lad of sixteen years of age.
For a number of decades Thompson has been the most widely-known name among stud masters in Australia. Mr. Wm. Thompson is the survivor of three brothers, who are mentioned as breeder in the early volumes of the Australian Stud Book. The first volume was published in 1878. Mr. James Thompson began in the 70's of last century with two mares, Adeline, by Kingston, and Keep sake, by Yattendon. At the time of his death in 1911 his Oakleigh stud in the Widden Valley, N.S.W., had become about the largest in Australia. Almost as large was the Widden stud, at Kerrabee, owned by Messrs. John and William Thompson, and later by Messrs. John Thompson and Son. On the death of Mr. James Thompson he was succeeded at Oakleigh by his son, Mr. Herbert S. Thompson. Mr. John Thompson bequeathed Widden stud to his son, Mr. Alfred W. Thompson. In the days of the elder Thompsons, the sire premiership of Australia was frequently taken by their stallions. They were Lochiel (leader in five seasons), Grafton (leader in four seasons), Maltster (leader in five seasons), Ayr Laddie and Linacre (leader in two seasons). Valais was lender from 1923-24 to 1928-29 inclusive. Valais's son Heroic headed the list last season, and seems sure to repeat his success this season.
Great judges of stallions have been the several members of the Thompson family. Much could be written concerning their acquirement of Lochiel, Grafton, Maltster and Ayr Laddie. When the Arrowfield stud was dispersed in April, 1926, the cousins Messrs. Herbert and Alfred Thompson, and Mr. A. E. Thompson, of Bylong Station, combined to purchase Valais. Their successful bid was 14,400 guineas, the under bidder being the late Mr. H. A. Underwood, of Williamstown. The purchase of Valais proved most profitable. The sum bid for him was the highest which had been made in Australia for a thoroughbred until Heroic, by Valais, came into the sale ring in Melbourne early in 1925. Heroic, who had not been raced since he had won the Caulfield Guineas in the previous October, fell to the bid of 16,000 guineas made by Mr. C. B. Kellow. Heroic then entered the stable of J. Holt, at Mordialloc. Mr. Kellow made a great bargain that day. Under his colors Heroic recouped in stake money more than his cost, and his owner also landed some very large wagers. When Heroic retired from the turf in 1927 he was leased for three years by Mr. Herbert Thompson, and installed at Tarwyn Park, Rylstone, N.S.W. The amount of the lease was £3000 per annum for each of three years. By the end of that period the financial slump had set in, and the lease was renewed at £1500 per annum. Mr. Thompson's stallions are located at Tarwyn Park. For most of the year the mares are some distance away at Oakleigh stud, a property of large dimensions. Another property controlled by Mr. Thompson is Sunnyside stud, Bylong, Rylstone, N.S.W. This he runs in conjunction with Mr. Percy Basche, a popular businessman in Sydney.
The magnitude of the operations at Tarwyn Park, Oakleigh and Sunnyside, may be gauged from the fact that in 1929, the last of the "boom years," fourteen yearlings were sent from Sunnyside stud, and 73 from Oakleigh stud for sale in Sydney. In addition eight were sent for sale in Melbourne. The total number of mares comprising the Oakleigh and Sunnyside studs at that time would be approximately 150. This year 56 yearlings were sent from Oakleigh and nineteen from Sunnyside for sale in Sydney. The sires quartered at Tarwyn this season are Heroic, Fernkloof and Spearhead1 .

1939
22 September 1939
HEROIC DEAD
Broken Leg
LEADING SIRE
One of the greatest racehorses foaled in Australia, and seven times the leading sire of the country, Heroic, broke his near foreleg at Growee yesterday and was destroyed. It is thought that the stallion slipped on grasshoppers while galloping in his paddock.
Heroic was one of the first of the stock of the imported sire Valais, and was purchased at auction as a yearling by the Victorian trainer, C. T. Godby, for 1800 guineas. Godby was acting for the late Mr. J. R. Corteen, in whose colours Heroic won his two year-old races and early three-year-old races.
His most sensational victories were the Chelmsford Stakes, in which, ridden by A. Reed, he defeated Gloaming, and the A.J.C. Derby, in which, ridden by the late H. Cairns, he defeated Nigger Minstrel and Spearfelt.
In February of his three-year-old season Heroic came under the auctioneer's hammer again, and was purchased by Mr. C. B. Kellow for 16,000 guineas, a record price at the time.
(PHOTO) HEROIC
He then went into the stable of J. Holt, and for his new owner won the Newmarket Handicap and numerous weight-for-age races. In all he won 21 races, was second 11 times, and third four times, his winnings amounting to £38,062/10/.
He went to the stud in 1927, and for the last seven years he has headed the list of winning sires for Australasia. His progeny so far have won 853 races, worth £263,187.
Heroic's best son is the phenomenal weight-for-age performer, Ajax, and his next best is the Melbourne Cup winner, Hall Mark, who has made a promising start, as a sire. Other good winners sired by Heroic were Silver Standard, Te Hero, Vauntry, Maid of Orleons, Gallantic, The Marne, Heroic Prince, Prittle Prattle, Parodier, Nuf field, Bold Bid, Hope, Illustrious, Gloriole, Top Hole, June, Othello, Publicity, Royal Step, Heritor, Tuckiar, Cereza, Australia Fair, Porcia, and High Degree. The Australian Comforts Fund will contribute £4 worth of comforts for each member of the A.I.F. Part will be distributed overseas and part on the troopships2 .

1955

12 September 1955
Mr. G. H. Purvis recently bought Growee, a station property at Rylstone, and finds it has a special point of interest for him.
It was there that the great racehorse Heroic was buried.
The fact is recorded on a circular concrete slab which simply says: "Heroic, 1939"3 .

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