Dimray
Dimray , one of the most important sire sons of Radium , and an outstanding campdrafter in his own right . Pictured here with Alf Bignell , showing brilliant style in the campdraft arena .
Once again a legendary horseman in Carl Mitchell decided to send a great mare called Doreen to the best stallion he knew , and of course that horse was Radium . The resulting colt , Dimray , was born in 1938 .
Doreen was purchased for 60 pounds in the early 1930s , which was a ‘ king ’ s ransom ’ in those days . Doreen was by Sylvius , a Thoroughbred that placed in the Melbourne Cup . Silvius ’ s dam was a mare called Addenda , who was by Spearmint . Spearmint was by Carbine ( NZ ), and his sire was Silvern , who was by Polymelus , a very influential Australian Stock Horse taproot sire .
Like his sire and grandsire , Dimray was a wonderful campdrafter . He also was bred in the Upper Hunter , on the sides of the Great Divide at ‘ Uloola ’, Ellerston . This area was quite isolated in those days , so it was nothing for Carl to ride 40 or 50 miles to a campdraft and then back home . Despite the distance , Carl won many campdrafts in the Upper Hunter .
In 1948 when Carl represented Hunter Valley at the Sydney Royal Easter Show on Dimray , he scored a 93 , which stood as the highest score in Sydney for a number of years . Carl lent Dimray to Alf Bignell , a well known campdraft competitor from the Maitland area , who was also very successful with him . At one stage Dimray won five campdrafts in a row .
In the early 1950s Dimray was sold to Frank Dickie at Edgeroi , where he later died . Dimray was very important as the sire of two influential Foundation Sires , REALITY - FS and PETER - FS . The dam of STANTON STUD DODGE - FS , Glamour , was also by Dimray . Many pundits consider Dimray is the most influential tap root sire of modern campdrafters .
Chan
It is believed Chan was the last colt sired by Radium . Foaled in 1945 , Chan was bred by the legendary horseman and trainer of dogs , Frank Scanlon .
Knowing that his friend JG ( Jim ) Callinan wanted a Radium colt , Frank arrived at Glengarry Station one day , in a two horse float , with his good mare Witzy and a two month old colt at foot by Radium on board . Frank gave the colt to Jim Callinan , which was later named Chan , after Charlie Chan , a famous Chinese detective .
Jim always regarded Chan as the horse he would have most liked to breed himself . There was a bond between Chan and Jim Callinan , and the great horseman was able to educate Chan to do some great things , including getting him to jump a fence by putting his coat over the wire . A promising start to campdrafting — a win and a second from three starts — was curtailed when Chan drove a piece of wood into his near hind coronet . This became a recurring injury .
Chan was by Radium and out of Witzy , a great cattle mare . Witzy was by Medlow .
Radium out of a Medlow mare not only produced Chan but the other great stallions , Rayon , Radiums Echo and Radiums Call .
One of the greatest features of the Chan horses were the beautiful heads , the lovely headsets and the swan necks . This trait is still being produced in his descendants . A possible explanation for this can be found if we delve deeper into Chan ’ s breeding . His mother Witzy was out of a part Arabian mare , and Cecil ’ s great grandfather , Dragoman was an Arabian stallion . Could this genetic cross have produced this amazing front ? Another interesting connection is that Medlow ’ s great grandsire is Glenrock , and Cecil ’ s dam Meretha II was by Glenrock .
Chan is a dominant force in the Australian Stock Horse Stud Book , particularly through his mares . His greatest contribution to the Stud Book is through the
A daughter of Chan , GLENGARRY DINA , ridden by Leo Callinan .
Foundation mare , ROSEBROOK CEDAR - FM , who produced the Foundation stallion ROSEBROOK CEDARWOOD - FS and the Impact Stallion ROSEBROOK ABOU - IS .
What is so amazing is that Chan never stood to outside mares . He was only used with the Glengarry mares , and was also lent to Dick Telfer of Gum Ridge , Merriwa , when Jim Callinan ’ s son Leo worked for Dick . Dick Telfer kept a colt by Chan , called RED RAY - FS , and Dick ’ s horses also became renowned for their beautiful fronts .
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