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HORSES

 

YEAR: 1921

FIRST WATER

First Water(1921 Harold Rothschild-Red Diamond), NZ family of Red Diamond; 2:20.7; £995; three wins; 15 foals, 12 winners. Breeder: J Stevenson & J J McMath, Riversdale. All foals bred by H Hunter, Wyndham.

First Water's sire Harold Rothschild was a line bred Childe Harold(Rothschild-Harolds Rest) homebred stallion foaled at Willowbank Stud by Stevenson and McMath. Auckland Cup winner Harold Junior was one of his 49 winners and he was broodmare sire of First Water's Auckland Cup winning progeny Ned Worthy.

Her dam Red Diamond established a family that was set alight by First Water and her progeny. Red Diamond was by Prince Imperial from a Blackwood Abdallah mare. Prince Imperial came to NZ from Australia as a two-year-old. As a sire he left Lady Clare(NZ Cup) and was broodmare sire of many NZ provincial cup winners and Michael Galindo(Dominion Handicap). Prince Imperial left an indelible mark on NZ foundation maternal families. Red Diamond won her first race at Gore RC in 1911 (Labour Day Trot) was placed second in one of two other four-year-old starts and was unplaced at five before being bred from. Red Diamond also left Red Star and Diamond Child who founded successful families.

Red Diamond's family's greatest product is four time ID Pacing Champion Blacks A Fake (Victoria/ Hunter Cups, Truer Memorial, Qld Pacing C/S(2), $4.5m). Rondel and Smooth Satin are other ID Champions from the family. Leading juveniles descending from First Water are the 1970's champion Noodlum (Sapling/ Welcome Stakes, NZ/ Qld Derbies), multiple derby winning youngster of the 1960's in Tactile (Welcome/ Kindergarten Stakes, GN/NZ/NSW/VIC/SA Derbies) and more recently One Dream (NZ/ AUS Oaks). The quickest of Red Diamond's family members are Oneinamillion (1:49.3US, June 1998, 2nd NZ bred under 1:50) and in Australasia, Freyberg (1:51.7).

In her inaugural racing season (1925/6), First Water notched a win at Invercargill as a four-year-old. At five, two wins at Gore and Hutt Park while her final start as a six-year-old produced a £100 placing at Addington.

First Water's filly progeny:
1. First Author, first foal, unraced, left a number of fillies who bred on especially First Moko whose descendants have included Freberg, Malaz (Sapling Stakes, Southern Supremacy, Cross Stakes, Louisson Hcp, Invercargill Cup), Model Hardcraft (Timaru Nursery), Good Too (Dunedin Handicap).

2. Aqua Bond, winner of six races (Nelson President Hcp) left May Grattan whose descendants include All Promises (AUS/QLD Oaks) and Trout Stream leads directly to the Southland bred 'Matai' branch. Standouts include: Matai Dreamer (Kindergarten, GN Derby, NZ C/S - 4), Matai Mackenzie (Welcome Stakes, NZSS-2, NZ C/S, GN Derby), Matai Bret (Bunbury Cup), Black Irish (Aust Pacing C/S, ID hts(2), Fremantle Cup), Helena Jet (Southern Belle Speed Series), Angelina Jolie (Delightful Lady Classic-2f).

3. Nell Grattan, raced from three to nine years recording nine victories (Wanganui Cup, CPTC Matson Stks, NZMTC Papanui Handicap). She and her daughters bred on: Mighty Imp's descendants include Blue Water (Nevele R Fillies), Clancy (Hannon Memorial), Oneinamillion (QLD Derby) Winning Blue Chip (NZ Derby); Mighty Lass, Australian bred family of winners; Mighty Song, winner of eight to whom Best Deal Yet descends (QLD Derby) and Tactics, winner of eleven (New Brighton Cup) - dam of numerous winners including Tactile (six Derbies) and Deft (won 10 and was dam of Noodlum). This branch of the Nell Grattan (Red Diamond/ First Water) family is responsible for wonderful horses such as Blacks A Fake, Olga Korbut, One Dream, It's Ella, Some Legacy.

4. Rocks Ahead, won 16 races and was a sub 2:10.0 performer (2:09.4). Her wins included Addington's Dash/ Speedway/ Heathcote Handicaps, Oamaru's Presidents Handicap and Forbury's Dash Handicap [deadheat]/ Flying Handicap/ James Handicap (all told six wins at Forbury). Rocks Ahead was unplaced in 1938 and 1039 NZ Cups.
Rocks Ahead left seven winners including good pacer Navigate (11 wins, Ollivier Hcp/ Hannon Memorial) and Dominion Hcp/ Worthy Queen Trot/ ID heat winning trotter Barrier Reef (13 wins). She also left Rendezvous who founded her own award winning branch of the Red Diamond/ First Water family. Her filly Dismiss (Nelson Winter Cup) established a family that became a breeding goldmine for the Chins (Luk - trotters, Onn - pacers). Luk Chin's trotters descend through Dispense (dam Dimiss, eight wins, ID heat), including Gorbachev/ Djokovic (Cambridge Trotting Stakes -3), Lysenko, Lady Caballo (NZ Trotting Stakes -3), Fayanni (GN Breeders Trot twice, Thames Trotting Cup), Kasyanov (six wins then sold to Australia) and many more. Others not raced by Luk Chin descending from Dismiss include Godsun, Earl of Clevedon, Lord Burghley.
Dr Onn Chin raced pacer Feverish from this family (1:50.4 US at Meadowlands in earliy 2001, then fastest mare bred in NZ). Other good pacers descending from Dismiss were Disband for Chin Bing Foon (Luk & Onn's father), won 14 races in NZ including ID heat/3rd in 1965 Forbury final to dead-heaters Jay Ar/ Robin Dundee and Black Duke (34 wins, 1:53.7TT in Australia).
Rendezvous' fillies have left ID Pacing champions Rondel/ Smooth Satin ($1m, Chariots of Fire, Ben Hur), Light Buffy (SA Trotters Cup twice), The Private Dancer (Tatlow Memorial), Rare Touch NZ C/S -3) to name a few.

5. Salamis, raced once (unplaced), was a very productive broodmare. Among her descendants are Bitobliss (1:51.8, Kilmore Cup, Legends twice), Born to Trot (NZ Trotting Stakes-2), First Mate (USA Fireball series), Markalan (NZ Trotting Stakes-3, Trotting C/S).

First Water's male progeny:
1. First Lord, an entire, recorded ten wins(Heathcote Handicap twice, Wairarapa Cup at Hutt Park, Auckland's September Handicap/ F J Smith Memorial). First Lord became a successful sire both in NZ and Australia - Cardinal King (numerous feature races in NZ, 1968 Yonkers International race series), Lord Mina (WA Cup) and broodmare sire of Idolmite (Hannon/ Barton Memorials both twice, New Brighton Cup), John Craig (NSW/ SA Derby).
2. Indemnity by Dillon Hall, like First Lord he recorded four wins (Nelson Cup). Ned Worthy, like Aqua Bond by Worthy Bond, won seven races, winning the Winton Juvenile-3 at his first start, Wyndham Juvenile-3, 1940 Auckland Cup (trainer Bob Townley, driver Bill Doyle.

Minor winners produced by First Water include First Royal(3); Dark Water(2); Equery(2, one at Greymouth under saddle; Assault, one win from only two starts at Wellington; Paratrooper(1); Oasis(1).

Credit: Peter Craig writing in Harnessed Jan 2015



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