Cary T. Grayson to WT Waggoner

Cary T. Grayson to WT Waggoner

Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938

WWP16654

1930 February 13

Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, Staunton, Virginia

English

Mr. WT Waggoner
Forth Worth, Texas

Dear Mr. Waggoner, -

I have had to be away a great deal during the past month and meant to answer your letter long before this.

I telegraphed you from South Carolina that I had secured Jockey Walls to ride for you in the Kentucky Derby. He is in the employ of Max Hirsch. Hirsch has about 40 horeses in his stable but no three year old good enough to run in the Derby, unless some of his patrons buy a Derby horse in the meanwhile. The latter contingent is the only reservation in letting you have Walls. I asked Hirsch to let you have him because you were a friend of mine and he was very nice about it. As to business arrangements, I told him I thought you would be willing to pay his expenses to and from Louisville and allow him something for time lost from riding in New York. Also, if he won the Kentucky Derby, I knew you would treat him right. So, with your approval, that is the business understanding.

Walls is one of the very best riders. He is not too old to be full of fears, and he has escellent judgment. In addition, he has had lots of experience in riding in the big races.

I have not secured the other jockeys as yet but feel sure that I am going to get one more good boy and maybe two. Perhaps, if you decided to start three horses in the Derby, you might want Mays, your own Jockey, to have a mount. While he is young and lacks lots of experience, he may be very valuable from the standpoint of having the advantage of knowing the horses, especially if he has ridden them in exercise and workouts before the race.

I have made a number of inquiries about your trainer, Mr. Vestal, and I can give you excellent reports. For instance, Max Hirsch, who is one of the most popular and successful trainers around New York, when I asked him what he thought of Vestal as a trainer, he said “he is real good if you dont give him too many horses.” When I asked him what number he considered “too many” he said “I think about 12 horses. With that number he is one of the best trainers you can get.” He then continued on at length about Mr. Vestal, and as he went on I felt gratified in knowing that you had him as a trainer. Others, whose advice I did not value as highly as that of Hirsch, spoke as well of him. So, I think you were very fortunate in securing him. He looks like the logical man to train your horses for the Derby. Macalroy, your other trainer, is all right but the general impression is that he is lacking in experience. The other trainers dont seem to know him or know much about him. So, you are in a better position to judge him than I would be with the advice I could gather for you.

Relative to breeding your mares, it is quite a problem to give the whys and wherefors of how to breed them. Blood lines and confirmation must be taken into consideration. I am only sorry that I cannot see them and study them as individuals along with their pedigrees and racing records. As I infer it, you do not intend to ship them away to breed them as the distance and the danger to those in foal are too great - particularly at this season of the year.

Roughly, I would suggest that you breed the majority to PHALAROS and the others to the SUN STAR horse (Port d’ Paou), and if ROYAL FORD does not train, breed a few to him. (I would not try to ship any to Kentucky to breed at this time of the year.) Also, I would not double (in-breed) PORT D’ PAOU to mares that have SUN STAR blood close up - such as GIRL SCOUT, MME. SANS GENE, CIRCUS STAR, LA CRETA, PLACERTA.

I would breed PORT D’PAOU to PORT HALE, as the best authority I know in England told me he would pick SUN STAR mares for MAN O’ WAR, and in breeding PORT HOLE you are reversing it.

I would breed YEDDO, the other MAN O’ WAR to PHALAROS. The ones I like particularly well for PHALAROS are:

              FREE LOVE              LITTLE VISITOR
              BIRDLOOSE             DUBLE 11
              THRONE                  LA CERTA
              GIRL SCHOUT          PLACERTA
              FRANCOIS               PETUNIA
              TETRANCE               PETER'S PET
              IRISH WAYS            POLYSANDA
              CIRCUS STAR          THAT'S THAT
              HANDY MANDY         ARMINE 11
              AMERICANS             MIME SANS ORNE
              DISTURBANCES       FELICIA

There are some of your mares that I think would be rated as good but not very good nor excellent, and yet in seeing them I might be entirely wrong on this and I dont like to condemn them without familiarizing myself with them as individuals and their racing and breeding records. I would think the best plan to pursue would be to breed all you have on the farm, with the idea of culling out some of them after you have bred them. Perhaps you might lease them to some Texas farmers with the proviso that you have an option to buy the foal at weaning time. I say at “weaning time” because if you are going to keep the foal it is important that you raise it on your farm so that plenty of good food may be had and an opportunity given for development of muscles and lungs - above all - it will give an opportunity to see that his feet are in good shape. I often think and speak of the wonderful feet that I saw on your colts.

I am sorry that I cannot be more clear and definite on the breeding of your mares. Do'nt hesitate to ignore all I have said or disagree with any or all suggestions. However, I am sure that you realize that there is a lot of gamble in breeding. For instance, I gave away the service to HIGH TIME as an act of charity to a practically unknown mare that had never been broken - RUSH BOX. The offspring was SARAZEN! I have read a lot about the credit of the whole thing—tribute to the one who figured out about the mating of the mare to breed SARAZEN, but I assure you it was purely a gamble - an act of charity. If we can get a SARAZEN out of your lot, we will be mighty lucky.

With best wishes and warm personal regards, I remain

Sincerely your friend,

CTG/n

P.S. I am doing all I can to help you in the matter of the Veteran's Hospital and I took care of your Texas delegation which was heade by Amon G. Carter when they were here.I have spoken to General Hines and other members of the committee in your behalf and I know you are going to get some of the votes of the seven but the question is "Will you get enough?"

Judging from the number of cities in Texas bidding for this hospital, it would seem that Texas is the most fertile soil for such a project of any place in the world. At any rate, your location is very strongly in the running at present.

ctg

Letter

Waggoner, William Thomas (1852–1934)