Letters to the Sports Editor

To the Editors of the Crimson:

I enjoyed your article on Forego in the April 13 issue very much, but I feel I should call attention to one serious inaccuracy. Whirlaway is far from being the only distinguished name in Forego's pedigree. Forli-Lady Golconda may not be a particularly fashionable pedigree, but it is certainly one of the finest in the country.

Forli was horse of the year in South America in 1966, and is a good if not brilliant sire; his son Forceten was considered a very good prospect for last year's Derby. Hyperion, Forli's grandsire, is one of the finest tail-male lines in racing.

Lady Golconda's sire, Hasty Road, was a good racer (he won over $500,000) and a notable sire. He is by Roman, who was twice leading Juvenile sire and once leading broodmare sire. Roman is in turn by Sir Gallahad III, one of the greatest sires of all time, the sire of triple crown winner Gallant Fox, and the grandsire of triple crown winner Omaha. Hasty Road's maternal grandsire is Discovery, a champion racer and an excellent sire. Other daughters of Discovery include Miss Disco, Bold Ruler's dam, and Geisha, the dam of Native Dancer. Discovery is by Display, who is by the sire of Man O' War and is a legendary handicap horse.

Lady Golconda's maternal grandsire is Bull Lea, who was to racing just after the Second World War what Bold Ruler is to present-day racing. Bull Lea not only sired triple crown winner Citation, but also Coaltown, Armed, Bewitch, and many other superb horses. Unlike Bold Ruler, Bull Lea established his reputation on a limited number of high quality mares, without the benefits of the recent influx of fine imported bloodlines. Finally, Lady Golconda traces in tail female to Nellie Flag, a granddaughter of Man O' War.

Except for Display and Man O' War, all these horses are no further removed than Whirlaway. To say that Whirlaway is the only notable name in Forego's pedigree is to do grave injustice to Mrs. Gerry's achievement in breeding him. Moreover, having Whirlaway in a pedigree is at best a dubious asset, since he was a failure at stud.

Despite this blunder, I appreciate the Crimson's foray into the world of horse racing, and I hope it will be repeated soon. Susan Lambiris'78