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  Family C-7: Maid of the Lake
graphic


This family, tracing back to a mare bred in NSW, is still producing stakes winners. Maid of the Lake, whose pedigree was unrecorded but was almost certainly pure thoroughbred, was bred by Captain Bourn Russell at Ravensworth station, near Singleton, NSW. Russell, born in Sussex, was the commander and part-owner of vessels sailing to India and the South Seas. He settled in Sydney in 1826 and became a successful shopkeeper in Maitland. In the 1840s he bought Ravensworth station when its previous owner, Dr. James Bowman, went broke. Bowman had succeeded D'Arcy Wentworth (see Family C - 10) as the principal surgeon in Sydney and had married the wealthy John Macarthur's daughter Mary Isabella, consequently receiving a government land grant on Bowman's Creek. The grant, which he called Ravensworth, along with additional purchased land, encompassed over 12,000 acres. A series of political disasters attributed to his father-in-law led to Bowman's dismissal from government service, and he retired to Ravensworth, where a combination of lack of ranching experience, poor business decisions and the great drought and subsequent economic depression of the 1840s led to his finanical woes.

Maid of the Lake produced the filly Black Swan to the cover of Yattendon, the great 19th century colonial-bred stayer and sire; her breeder is listed as a Dr. Bowker. In the ownership of John Mayo, an emancipated convict who was later a horseman in the Hawkesbury Valley, northwest of Sydney, she ran at Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle and Hawkesbury (at Clarendon). Mayo also owned The Gem (NSB), a winner for him of the Claret Stakes at Hawkesbury, as a juvenile, and later dam of the stakes winning gelded Tallboy, and Prince Imperial, who won the Hawkesbury Grand Handicap in 1885. When Black Swan retired, she bred three recorded foals for Mayo, of which her first foal, her 1883 daughter, The Queen, was the best, winning the eleven furlong STC Queen's Birthday Cup at age five. The others were Black and Blue (1884), a colt by Goldsbrough, and then Master Grand (1887), a black colt by imp. Grandmaster. Black Swan passed into the hands of James N. Hart, and for him bred the filly Lady Trenton (1889), from whom the family descends; followed by Mulwee (1891, by The Drummer); an unnamed colt by the Drummer (1891, died); Swandor (1892) and Warreah (1894), both by imp. Splendor; Bolwarra (1895, gelded), by Grandmaster; Orinda (1897), a filly by Medallion; and The General (1898) by Medallion. Black Swan died in 1900.

The Queen, Lady Trenton and Orinda all bred on; Black Swan's daughter Mulwee died after producing one foal. The Queen produced eleven foals for Samuel Horden before her death in 1907, nine of which were fillies, most of which, including Royal Purple (1895) and Wilton Queen (1896), bred on. Orinda likewise bred on, with several daughters, but this branch, like that of the The Queen's eventually petered out. Lady Trenton, like her dam, was a stayer, and in 1894 won the AJC Sydney Cup over 16 furlongs for James Hart. She was later installed as a broodmare at the Thompson family Widden Stud in the Widden Valley (see Family C-6), where she was an outstanding producer. Her offspring included Strata Florida (1899), winner of the VATC Caulfield Guineas and the VRC October Stakes (10 furlongs); Lord Cardigan (1900), winner of both the Melbourne and Sydney Cups at age three; Dividend (1901), the stallion Simmer's best offsrping and a staying winner of many races, including the 3 mile VRC Champion Stakes twice, the AJC St. Leger, the Cumberland Stakes (24 furlongs), the VRC Essendon Stakes twice, and the 3 mile AJC Plate (24 furlongs). Her daughter, Lady Lybia (1897), was also a good producer, the dam of Melbourne Cup winner Lord Nolan and stakes winner Kingbier, and established a branch of the family still winning today. Another daughter, Lady Rylstone (1904), won the AJC Champagne Stakes and the VRC Oaks, and later produced four daughters that bred on. A third daughter, Lady Capulet (1907), produced the good juvenile Heros and two daughters that bred stakes winners.

Some recent winners from the family, which has had a series of good running mares that were later successful broodmares, descend in tail-female from the great staying mare and Melbourne Cup winner Rainbird (1941). One of these, Misty Vain (1976), a winner of nine races and an outstanding producer, bred ten winners from fifteen foals, including Tennessee Vain, a winner of seven races, including three Group 2 stakes, and dam of three stakes winners in the 1990s --Tennessee Mist, Tennessee Morn, and Tennessee Magic -- and Fair Vanity, the dam of Magic Millions Two Year Old Classic and Gimcrack Stakes winner Mirror Mirror (2003, by Dehere). Adelaide Guineas winner Nina Haraka(1995) is another descendant of Misty Vain. The 2005-06 New Zealand champion broodmare sire, Centaine, is a member of this family.


Notable Descendants


Centaine
Centaine and owner Mark Chittick
Image Courtesy Waikato Stud

Lord Cardigan
Lord Cardigan

Peter
Peter

Rainbird
Rainbird

Centaine b.c. 1980
(Century - Rainbeam)
Winner of the MVRC The Herald Vase, the VATC Barton Handicap (1,000 meters), the VATC Autumn Stakes (1200 meters), and three other races, and second in the Manikato Stakes, and the MRC Sandown Guineas. He retired to the Chittick family's Thornton Park Stud in New Zealand at age five, and remained in the family's ownership until his death in 2005, standing at Waikato Stud at Matamata. Twice champion New Zealand sire of juveniles, he was leading sire in New Zealand for 1992-93, based on New Zealand and Australian earnings, and was second on the Australian champion sire's list in '92-'93, despite his New Zealand base. His 58 group stakes winners include Champion juvenile filly Spring Rain, Kinjite (multiple stakeswinner and sire), Champion Australasian 3 YO filly Slight Chance, and Hong Kong Derby winner Super Fit, and his daughters put him in the top ten leading broodmare sires list in both Australia and New Zealand in 2002-3, 2004-5 and 2005-6, and he posthumously topped the chart as champion broodmare sire in 2005-06. His dam, Rainbeam, won four races, including the STC Silver Slipper Stakes and the AJC Widden Stakes.

Lord Cardigan br.c. 1900
(Positano - Lady Trenton)
First of several Melbourne Cup winners in this family, he was bred by James Thompson at the Widden Stud and raced by theowner-trainer John Mayo. He was a spectacular stayer, winning both the Melbourne (very lightly weighted, beating the great mare Wakeful) and Sydney Cups at age three; his other wins included the 2-1/4 mile Randwick Plate, the two mile Cumberland Stakes, and the three-mile AJC Plate, and was just edged out of a second Melbourne Cup win at age four by Acrasia (carrying 9 st.-4 lbs.). He died early, at age four. His close relative, Lord Nolan (1905), out of his half-sister, Lady Lybia and by his sire, Positano, was bred by John Mayo and won the Melbourne Cup in 1908 and also took the AJC St Leger Stakes.

Peter ch.g. 1938
(Peter Pan - Sequoia)
Half-brother to Rainbird (see below), and by dual Melbourne Cup winner Peter Pan, he was bred by Malcolm Reid, although he did not race for him. The best son of his sire, his wins included the WRC Williamstown Cup (13 furlongs), the VATC Eclipse Stakes (11 furlongs), the VRC Bagot Handicap (14 furlongs), the Wagga Cup, and the AJC Victory Cup (12 furlongs). He ran several times in the Melbourne Cup, placing seventh in 1943, 12th in 1945, and second in 1944. His other placings included seconds in the Hotham Handicap and the SAJC Derby. He and Rainbird (below) were popular heroes of the turf during the WWII years.

Rainbird ch.f. 1941
(The Buzzard - Sequoia)
One of the best from the good stayer and stallion imp. The Buzzard, Rainbird was was bred by Adelaide merchant Malcolm Reed and raced by his brother, Clifford. Racing mostly in South Australia, and usually carrying big weights, she won the SAJC Elder Stakes (9 furlongs) and the SAJC St. Leger Stakes (14 furlongs), the PARC Cheltenham Stakes (9-1/4 furlongs), and the PARC Port Adelaide Cup (15 furlongs), but she went north to win the VRC Wakeful Stakes and then became one of the few mares to win the Melbourne Cup in 1945. Her placings included the Victoria Oaks, Caulfield Cup and Sydney Cup. She was half-sister to Peter (see above) and Panover, the latter winner of the Adelaide Alexandra Stakes. For Clifford Reid she bred eight living foals, the best being Raindear (1960, by Nasrullah son Orgoglio), winner of the South Australian Oaks and the VRC Wakeful Stakes, and second in the VRC Oaks. Raindear went on to produce two good stakes winners, one of which, Rainburst (1971), bred additional stakes winners. The other significant daughter of Rainbird was Rain Mist (1955, by Helios), a winner of one minor 1,000 meter race and third dam of the great producer Misty Vain, whose descendants from several branches are still winning top stakes races today.

Descent Chart


Bold=winners of stakes races and important handicap and weight-for-age races

Maid of the Lake (f.) by Unknown
 Black Swan (blk.f. 1874) by Yattendon
   The Queen (b.f. 1883) by The Drummer
   | Rebel Queen (b/br.f. 1892) by Nordenfeldt
   | My Queen (b/blk.f. 1894) by Nordenfeldt
   | Royal Purple (blk.f. 1895) by Nordenfeldt
   | Wilton Queen (b.f. 1896) by Realm
   | Alexandra (b.f. 1901) by Midday
   | Queen's Message (b.f. 1902) by Gossoon
   Black and Blue (b.c. 1884) by Goldsbrough
   Master Grand (blk.c. 1887) by Grandmaster
   Lady Trenton (br.f. 1889) by Trenton
    Lady Lybia (b.f. 1897) by Antaeus
    | Lord Nolan (br.c. 1905) by Positano
    | Dame Lybia (b.f. 1912) by Positano
    | | Desdemona (ch.f. 1924) by All Black
    | | | Silvado (c. 1929) by Silvius
    | | | Sequoia (ch.f. 1932) by Heroic
    | | | | Panover (f. 1937) by Peter Pan
    | | | | | Overo (ch.f. 1951) by Melhero
    | | | | | Over the Moon (b.f. 1956) by Money Moon
    | | | | Peter (ch.g. 1938) by Peter Pan
    | | | | Rainbird (ch.f. 1941) by The Buzzard
    | | | |  Rain Mist (f. 1955) by Helios
    | | | |  | Rain Again (br.f. 1965) by Empyrean
    | | | |  | | Melodina (f, 1970) by Regal Light
    | | | |  | |  Misty Vain (f. 1976) by Vain
    | | | |  | |   Hit it Misty (gr.f. 1982) by Hit it Benny
    | | | |  | |   | La Nebbia (1990) by Zephyr Bay
    | | | |  | |   |  Nina Haraka (ch.f. 1995) by Fraar
    | | | |  | |   Tennessee Vain (br.f. 1984) by Whiskey Road
    | | | |  | |   | Tennessee Mist (br.f. 1989) by Bletchingly
    | | | |  | |   | Tennessee Morn (br.f. 1991) by Bletchingly
    | | | |  | |   | Tennessee Magic (blk.f. 1992) by Bletchingly
    | | | |  | |   Vain Rancher (ch.c. 1988) by Rancher
    | | | |  | |   Tennessee Jack (br.g. 1990) by Whiskey Road
    | | | |  | |   Zephyr Vain (br.f. 1990) by Zephyr Bay
    | | | |  | |    Go Misty (gr.f. 1991) by Zephyr Bay
    | | | |  | |   Brave Century (dk.b./br.c. 1992) by Century
    | | | |  | |   >Fair Vanity (gr.f. 1994) by Rustic Amber
    | | | |  | |     Mirror Mirror (br.f. 2003) by Dehere
    | | | |  | Rain Shadow (blk.f. 1967) by Todman
    | | | |  |  Rainbeam (b.f. 1973) by Vain
    | | | |  |  | Centaine (b.c. 1980) by Century
    | | | |  |  Wicked Smile (ch.f. 1983) by Vain
    | | | |  Raindear (ch.f. 1960) by Orgoglio
    | | | |   Raining (ch.f. 1967) by Latin Lover
    | | | |   Latin Reign (c.c. 1970) by Latin Lover
    | | | |   Rainburst (ch.f. 1971) by Latin Lover
    | | | |   | Dam Burst (ch.f. 1979) by Brave Lad
    | | | |   | | Bank Burst (ch.f. 1987) by Vain
    | | | |   | | Inundate (ch.c. 1988) by Twig Moss
    | | | |   | Fear Burst (ch.f. 1980) by Without Fear
    | | | |   Pretty Fancy (ch.f. 1974) by Latin Lover
    | | | |   Selrain (b.g. 1977) by Selhurst)
    | | | Cassio (c. 1935) by Heroic
    | | | Jealousy (f. 1941) by Marconigram
    | | |  Smart Talk (b/br.f. 1953) by Talking
    | | |  Lady Jealousy (f. 1955) by Talking
    | | |  Morning Echo (f. 1958) by Pan II
    | | Romany Rye (c. 1926) by Bucklaw
    | Kingbier (c. 1914) by Comedy King
    | Thaisa (f. 1916) by Comedy King
    |  Dame Legion (f. 1932) by Legionnaire
    |   Posted Ledger (f. 1941) by Posterity
    |   Dashing Lass (f. 1945) by Dashing Cavalier
    |   | Manorlu (b.f. 1960) by Rowston Manor
    |   Hans (br.c. 1949) by Ingenious
    Strata Florida (br.c. 1899) by Grafton
    Lord Cardigan (br.c. 1900) by Positano
    Dividend (blk.c. 1901) by Simmer
    Lady Rylstone (br.f. 1904) by Grafton
    | Lady Denman (f. 1909) by Maltster
    | | Denacre (blk.c. 1916) by Linacre
    | Miss Rylstone (f. 1917) by Charlemagne II
    | | Jean Rylstone (f. 1932) by Ferkloof
    | |  Power Point (f. 1940) by Melfort
    | |   Sovereign Lady (f. 1949) by Golden Sovereign
    | |    Flying Rocket (f. 1956) by Smokey Eyes
    | |    Edward's Daughter (ch.f. 1959) by Sir Edward
    | |    Bib (ch.f. 1960) by Sir Edward
    | Lady Capertee (f. 1921) by Tressady
    | | Lady Vex (f. 1927) by Valais
    | | | Lumeah (f. 1940) by Law Maker
    | | |  Nuala (f. 1051) by Great Britain
    | | |   New Dollar (f. 1961) Macarthur
    | | |   Woady Princess (f. 1970) by Elect
    | | Capparis (f. 1930) by Fernkloof
    | |  Curanda (f. 1943) by Dendron
    | |   Coralee (f. 1956) by First Admiral
    | |    Topanda (b.c. 1974) by Tohopeka
    | Lady Constance (f. 1923) by Chrysolaus
    |  Lady Airlie (f. 1934) by Heroic
    |   Grey Hawk (f. 1946) by The Buzzard
    |    Bronze Hawk (f. 1950) by Newton Wonder
    |    | Bronze Law (br.f. 1956) by Laureate
    |    | | Rushkhana (br.c. 1963) by Rush
    |    | | Many Ideas (br.f. 1967) by Rush
    |    | | Cool Bronze (br.f. 1975) by Cool Mover
    |    | |  Gunyatti (b.g. 1980) by Rathdowney
    |    | |  Nullagai (br.f. 1985) by Rathdowney
    |    | Sequita (br.f. 1963) by Rush
    |    |  Flying Creole (br.c. 1972)
    |    Night Wind (f. 1951) by Nilo
    |    Alary (b.f. 1956) by Newton Wonder
    |    Wynland (b.f. 1959) by Byland
    Lady Capulet (b.f. 1907) by Positano
      Loversland (b.f. 1918) by Cooltrim
      | Einga (f. 1926) by Claro
      Cygnea (f. 1919) by Tressady
      | Greensborough (br.g. 1923) by Greenstead
      | White Swan (f. 1930) by High Art
      | | Revenir (f. 1945) by Macarthur
      | Miss Cygnea (f. 1938) by Marconigram
      |  Moni Koura (f, 1943) by Golden Sovereign
      |   Manzana (f. 1955) by Newton Wonder
      |    Rome Beauty (f. 1963) by Pipe of Peace
      |     Golden (f. 1967) by Faringdon
      |      So Soon (ch.f. 1980) by So Vain
      |       Nassido (ch.f. 1987) by Nassipour
      |       | So Lets (br.f. 1996) by Wallenda
      |       So Keen (f. 1990) by Jade Hunter
      |        Keeninsky (ch.c. 2001) by Stravinsky
       Heros (b.c. 1928) by Heroic








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