b4breeding

As one of my blog readers points out, I had overlooked an important descendant from Lydia Knight’s daughter Marjorie Armstong in my blog. She is also the grandam (through her daughter Beatrice Adios) of a colt called Meadow Paige, who was available down under for just two seasons, 1977 and 1978, for a total of just 37 live foals registered in Australia and 52 registered in New Zealand. Unlike the hopeful article shown below, he didn’t turn out to be a “super sire”, but his legacy has been important in a couple of ways. The article also fills in the gap in my knowledge of what Meadow Paige was like as a performer on the track.

Article in The Age newspaper, Australia, 8 April 1976.

In Australia, Meadow Paige’s best offspring was the good mare Family Credit who was a good producer herself but the line seems to have withered.

In New Zealand, his best foal was Harvest Gold, but she had just one foal before proving impossible to breed. That foal, Autumn Harvest has just two current lines I can find – in New Zealand there are some very young foals bred by Go Ziggy Go Ltd from her Live Or Die daughter Bonnie Harvest, and in Australia a good Bettor’s Delight racemare called Morton Plains who is a 4yo still racing. Morton Plains is from another Live Or Die daughter of Autumn Harvest called Dont Answer That.

Globally, Meadow Paige’s main claim to fame is as the damsire of the USA sire Bo Scots Blue Chip, a 1979 foal who as a racehorse took a record of 1:53.3m and $352,156 in stakes. He was brought out here to stand at stud from 1983 through to 1992 and then exported to Australia. As a son of Most Happy Fella, Bo Scots Blue Chip also has Lydia Knight through Knight Dream in his sire’s maternal line. Some of his well known offspring include Anne Franco (one of my favourite mares), Franco Ice, and Unique Blue Chip. But it is as a damsire that Bo Scots Blue Chip’s legacy is strongest – he is the sire of Pleasant Franco, dam of the great New Zealand racehorse and sire Christian Cullen and his full sister Kate’s First. Bo Scots Blue Chip is also the damsire of Anna Matao, The Court Owl, and many others.

Apart from Bo Scots Blue Chip, Meadow Paige’s other outstanding damsire credit is Anvil Gale, who was born in New Zealand, won the 1996 2yo Sires Series Final and went on to perform with credit over several years in Australia.

Definitely, it is as the damsire of Bo Scots Blue Chip and through Christian Cullen and Kate’s First that Meadow Paige shines brightest down under.

As always – add to my knowledge with a comment or contact me on bee.raglan@xtra.co.nz . For example did Meadow Paige stand in North America for any enduring results?