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- Approximately 300 words penned on 4 sides of a folded sheet of creamy white paper, with each page measuring 8 inches high by 5 inches wide. "Richmond Park" is printed at the top of the cover page. Aldridge has altered the partially printed date from "1903" to "1913". Started on the cover page, Aldridge has continued his letter on the last page to then conclude on the inner 2 leaves. Signed "J.H. Aldridge" on the inner leaf. Once apparently mounted along the inner edge with glue or tape, there are heavy stains with remnants of glue to the inner edge of the first and last page. There is a tiny tear along the fold with some light brown stains or foxing to all four pages. Good. A RARE LETTER REPLETE WITH HORSE RACING ASSOCIATIONS. Aldridge writes to the Marchioness of Londonderry praising the horse he purchased from her and the Marquis of Londonderry. "You will be pleased to hear Pistol is keeping his name well before the public.I think Pistol will be 5th on the Winning.List in all Australia, of course in this State 'South Australia' he is easily 1st.Londonderry by Pistol Antilles won the Broken Hill Cup a few days ago & the Chairman in presenting the cup to the winner referred to the fact that the horse got his name from his Breeder the Marchioness of Londonderry.[Pistol] is a most prolific father(?) of winners & that is better than one good one & twenty duffers as some sires record. I believe there is only one sire in Australia which has produced more winners this year." He goes on to complain about the season as a whole, mentions some "great loss" that she has had, and he wishes the Marquis well and that "his illness worries will be settled ere long" Signed "J. H. Aldridge".James Henry "Jim" Aldridge (1849-1929) was a popular and highly respected Australian sportsman. he began his career as a hotelier in Adelaide. He managed the Globe Hotel in Rundle Street, a hotel that was popular with sportsmen. He later took charge of the Grand Hotel, Broken Hill and the Gresham Hotel. In 1890, with the intent of establishing a stud farm, he purchased at a Sydney sale the Stallion Carlyon. Carlyon was to be the lord of the harem, so to speak. In addition, he purchased a richly bred brood of a half-dozen mares. Sometime between 1888 and 1890 Aldridge purchased Richmond Park in South Australia from its original owner John Chambers. With the Chester horse Carlyon and the stud established Aldridge rapidly became well-known as a breeder. Carlyon and the thoroughbreds he sired at the Richmond Park stud farm made Aldridge's name famous throughout Australian racing circles. Although still able to perform as a stud, Carlyon was badly injured in 1905. As it happened, however, in 1904 Aldridge had purchased Pistol, the son of the famous English sire Carbine. Pistol was foaled in 1899 and arrived in South Australia as a five year old. He was purchased from the Marquis of Londonderry for the large sum of 1,250 pounds. As a stud, Pistol performed into his 26th year and sired winners of more than 641 races out of 1,423 competitions. Up until Aldredge's death in 1829, the Pistol progeny had won approximately 200,000 pounds in stake money. In atribute after his death, the Chairman of the S.A.J.C. [South Australian Jockey Club] Whitmore Blake Carr ("Doc Carr") wrote: "For years Mr. Aldridge has been one of the best widely known and most popular identities of the turf in South Australia, and one to whom the sport owed much of its maintenance and stability. When he ran horses he did so for the pure love of the sport, and the applause which always attended the success of his colours was a fine tribute by the racing public to the popularity of the owner. He was an exceptionally fine judge of a horse. The gratifying results which have been achieved at Richmond Park, making it stand today so high in the list of studs in the Commonwealth, was due to his sound judgment and ripe experience.". Seller Inventory # 97593
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