8th May 2020

 
Another week has passed while we are still in lock down.  In time we will be asked what we did to wile away the time when we could go nowhere. I can say that Michael and myself have remained busy, painting our house, weeding the garden and other chores that needed attention.  We hope everyone has stayed well and we look forward to seeing everyone in better times. 
 
Jeannette Cotterill has contacted me regarding the passing of Barry Cotterill.  Barry was part of the original group that was to become The Northern Saluki Club.  He was for many years a partner in the ‘Miskanda’ affix.  He owned Caryna Concord of Miskanda which he made up into a champion in 1985. The last time I saw Barry was when he judged Crufts in 2005.  He has been unwell for many years, and I believe latterly he has been living in a home.  His partner Jannette said that “his time had come.”  RIP Barry
 
Following on from my explorations of influential stud dogs I have heard from one of my readers that remembers Kafiat and Alyfeh.  They have said that even though they had the same sire and were out of litter sisters, they were of entirely different types and each of them produced offsprings true to their own type.  I think you can still see those two different types today.  Going back, looking through “The Saluki Book of British Champions’, the 9 Champion get of Kafiat were: Seafleet Kings Rhapsody( bred & owned by Mr & Mrs Shellard)  Rachel of Chandav (bred & owned by B. Chanter &V.  Davies), Seafleet Kismet (bred & owned by Mr & Mrs Shellard), Geldara Carlotta (bred & owned by Miss S Lambrinudi), Amena Morning Glory (bred & owned by Miss M Long), Geldara Corin,( bred by Miss S Lambrinudi, owned by Miss A McIntosh) Mabrooka Beth-Shan (bred & owned by Mrs A Macdonald, Miskanda Madalainah (bred & owned by Mrs J Cotterill), Janrosa Pretty Polly (bred & owned by Mrs J Hay)
 
Al Caliphs Alyfeh had 4 UK Champions to his name.  They are Windswift Al Caliph JW (bred by Miss V Watkins, owned by Mrs D Copperthwaite), Timotheus of Chandav (owned & bred by V Davis & B Chanter), Burydown Iphigenia (bred by Mrs Waters owned by Mrs Jaques), Rhazias Khyra (bred & owned  by Reena Clark)
 
The next important dog that I am going to discuss is Knightellington Esmail.  He was born in 1962 a little earlier than the previously discussed dogs.  He was definitely a legend in is own time not so much in the ‘show ring’ but on the coursing field.  His
progeny also carried on this show/coursing tradition and were highly sought after around the world.  Blanco, as he was more fondly known, was bred by Helen Baker though he lived with her son Rodney who was in the military living near the Salisbury plains. There, Rodney and Blanco had a great time coursing the strong hares which were to be found on the downs.  He had 12 mating partners producing 64 offsprings which were 26 males and 37 bitches.  He produced 4 champions in the show ring,
they are Geldara Burydown Yanina (bred by Mrs H Waters, owned by Miss S Lambrinudi), Knightelling, Knightellington Almanza Anita (bred by Mr E Tebbs, owned by Mrs H Baker), Yazid Burydown Yehudi (bred by Mrs H Waters, owned by Mrs C Ormsby), Almanza Aleesha (bred & owned by Mr E Tebbs).  In the Book of Champions the statement about Aleesha which is applicable to all of Esmail’s progeny “she is another ‘white’ coloured hound whose famous coursing blood goes back generation after generation for nearly forty years.”