Family C-14: Heris

This family's earliest known ancestress was Ladylike, by New Warrior (imported 1856, by Pyrrhus the First), a successful early sire of such horses as Melbourne and Australian Cup winner Tim Whiffler, Australian Buck, Tarragon, and other top runners. New Warrior, imported by owner-trainer-breeder John Tait (owner of The Barb (Family C - 3) and other significant racehorses) and Judge Alfred Cheeke, stood at their Varoville stud, and in the late 1850s was brought to Jerry's Plains in the Hunter Valley to stand at Peter Ward's Horse and Jockey Inn, joining the the stallion Little Wonder; the next year New Warrior was purchased by Charles Reynolds and was moved to his famous Tocal stud at the Paterson River, where he remained until his death.

Ward, born in Co. Galway, Ireland, arrived in Australia as an assisted migrant, and became a well-known owner of racehorses in the mid-19th century, racing at all the early Hunter Valley tracks, such as Homebush and Muswellbrook, and founded the latter's Jockey Club in 1862. Ladylike's dam is now unknown, but Ladylike herself was described as "a low set, bay mare, brokend down through racing, branded KX over PW near shoulder, and was purchased by Mr. R. Gleeson about 1862 from Mr. P. Ward."

Roger Gleeson, a fellow founding member of the Muswellbrook Jockey Club, held land at Merriwa, today still an important center of horse breeding. Ladylike was bred to Cheddar (imported 1856, a son of Cotherstone), producing the bay filly Lady of the Lake around 1865. Cheddar stood at the Busby brothers' stud at Cassilis (he also is seen early in Family C - 6). In or around 1871 Lady of the Lake was taken to Gemma-di-Vergy (imported in-utero, foaled 1863, by Gemma-di-Vergy; also sire of Contessa (Family C - 12) and Myrtle (Family C - 15), and the following year produced the bay filly Heris (c.1872), for whom the family is named. Heris' offspring raced successfully at the district tracks in Mudgee, Coolah and Singleton. One daughter, Vanity, was a particularly successful broodmare, and because her son, Famous (1899, by the successful speed sire Grafton), won important races and his sister and half-sister also were good winners, the family was admitted into the ASB.

The last truly successful runner in the family was the gelded Drastic (1944, by Binnie Hero), a winner of the STC Railway Quality Handicap, The AJC Australia Day Handicap, and four other handicaps in good company, in addition to competitions at district race meetings at Orange and Cowra. His breeder was W.E. Foley, of Coolah, whose family owned and bred Heris descendants from the turn of the century through the 1950s.

Notable Descendants