CH SOUTH STOCK POT BLACK (N)

In a poll conducted several years ago a number of respected breeders, covering all states, were asked for their top three dogs and bitches. The most popular choice for males proved to be Ch Southstock Pot Black. Naturally the results of this one poll doesn't automatically make him the best all-time stafford but taking into consideration his show record combined with his success and influence as a sire he certainly has a valid claim for such an accolade. It has now been over ten years since Pot Black made an appearance in the show ring and many of today's exhibitors would not have had the pleasure of seeing him in the flesh and are possibly unaware of his influence in their pedigrees, hopefully his article will be a fitting tribute to a truly great stafford.

HIS BREEDING

When Ch Southstock Pot Black was whelped on the 30th Sep 1988 the Southstock prefix of the Neil & Debbie Hargraves was well established as one of the leading kennels in N.S.W. already having produced a number of top quality staffords such as Ch Southstock Survivor, who was twice won the C.C. at British Terrier and also had an All Breeds Best in Show win to his credit and Ch Southstock Sandpiper who won C.C's at he N.S.W. Stafford Show and twice at British Terrier, including taking out Best of Breed at the 1988 Bi-centennial Show with its then record entry of 1741. However, Pot Black was to eclipse all that had gone before and as it turned out he was the zenith of the Southstock Staffords.

His sire, Bob and Doreen Jenks' Aus Ch Eastaff Likely Lad, was one of the most influential imported sires to come to this country and was a litter brother to Eng Ch Eastaff Lil Stotter (Likely Lad is also an older brother to top U.K. sire Eastaff Tallys Man). Likely Lad was a double-up on his grand-sire Ch Eastaff Guardian (Eng Ch Black Tusker x Eastaff Yoskia), who, despite his unfortunate early death had already proved himself to be one of the greatest dogs of his era, one of his three C.C.'s wins included Best of Breed under the legendary A.W.A. (Nap) Cairms. Likely Lad re-introduced the influential. Black Tusker lines previously imported into this country by the Jenks' Aus Ch Eastaff Bruiser, a son of Eng Ch Skean Dhu who due to a sterility problem only sired five litters. He did, however, to his everlasting credit produce Pitstaff Hellraiser the grand-dam of Pot Black from his first litter. In his second he sired the previously. mentioned Ch Southstock Sandpiper as well as her litter brother Southstock Solid Bond. sire of Ch Anjoma Going Places, twice a Melbourne Royal C.C. winner. His third litter produced Ch Yahbra Dusky Legend who went on to sire five Queensland champions.

Aus Ch Eastaff Likely Lad (UK) Pot Black's dam Southstock Caroline was a double-up on the bloodlines of Eng/Aus/NZ Ch Buccaneer Shoemaker.(another imported sire that still has an influence on today's breeding) through Aus/NZ Ch Scythian Figaro the sire of her grand-sire CH Spaceline Mad Max. one of the great dogs of South Australia as well as being the sire of her grand-dam, Junak Elisha. The success that has since stemmed from this combination of the Likely Lad/Shoemaker lines and continues to this day through Pot Black's progeny is one of the great chapters of our breed's history.

HIS SHOW CAREER

From time to time young pups turn up at shows that have that undeniable stamp of quality on them. It is a quality that is instantly recognizable and even someone not schooled in the finer points of the breed can recognize it and see that a very bright future in the show ring awaits these youngsters. It is not just the excellent conformation that make these youngsters stand out but something a bit more subtle such as their attitude or the confident way they carry themselves it. is as if they know that they are special. Pot Black was such a pup and that is not just being wise in hindsight as an item that appeared under the heading A Young dog With A Future??? that appeared in the Stafford News of May/June 1989 points out " . . . . Up until now thev (Southstock Kennels haven't produced another big winning male like Ch Southstock Survivor. However that could change with the appearance of Southstock Pot Black on the show scene. This young dog, by new import Eastaff Likely Lad (lmp UK) out of Southstock Caroline is in the care of Eck Hargraves. . . . . although Southstock Pot Black is only a young dog and it might be premature to build him up as another Survivor, it is not often that there is nearly 100 per cent approval for a certain dog amongst exhibitors as there is for this one. Let's hope that he lives up to expectations." It is safe to say that he not only lived up to expectations but most probably exceeded them. His show career spanned seven years during which time he tasted great success at Stafford Specialty shows, at British Terrier, the Sydney Royal and at All Breeds level. Prior to Pot Black, there had been a number of dogs such as Peter Hogan's Ch Ganglands Lil Mule that had been instrumental in raising the profile of the Stafford in NSW where the figured more and more consistently in "In Group" and "In Show" awards against the best opposition. Ch Southstock Pot Black raised the profile of the Stafford even higher. Pot Black was for his first two years in the ring shown by Debbie Hargraves, then briefly by Eck Hargraves before he handed over the reins to Kerri Sheehy (Riprock) who handled him for the rest of his show career. At his first appearance at a major show, British Terrier in May 1989, he won his class against five rivals under Linda Martin and went on to win Minor Puppy in Show under Alan Moonie (NSW). This was a prelude of things to come, later that year in September he went to Queensland for that state's Stafford Show judged by the UK specialist Norman Berry (Rendorn). At the age of 11 months 3 weeks he won not only the C.C. but also took out his first Best in Show. This was, up until this point in time, the finest and largest entry of staffords, 202, seen in Queensland. Six years later in 1995 at the age of seven he repeated his previous success by once again winning the C.C. and Best in Show under local specialist Walter Bore (Merseyland). Apart from the Queensland Stafford shows he also attended specialty shows in NSW, Victoria and SA but not with the same success, his best effort at these shows was a reserve C.C. under Warren Goldsworthy at the 1994 Victorian Stafford show. Perhaps it should be mentioned that Pot Black was often carrying a few extra pounds more than desired and that extra weight on occasions went against him in close decisions especially with specialist judges. In 1991 at the Sydney Royal he became the first Stafford to win Best exhibit in Group under the Swedish judge Mr. C. Cederskog. The previous year he had won the C.C. from the Intermediate class under another Swede in Mr. C.J. Adlercreutz and gaining R.U.B.O.B. behind the bitch C.C. winner Ch Tuskalear Red Horizon. After his initial success at the British Terrier Show in 1989 he had a good run of success at this show winning the C.C. and B.O.B. on three occasions plus four reserves. His Best of Breed win in May 1994 under Walter Bore saw him go onto win Best in Show under well known Terrier specialist Liz Walmsley (NSW). This win was the first time that a male staffprd had taken out this show, the only previous winner was the great bitch Ch Airdstock Kate Kelly who won eleven years previously.

Pot Black's All Breeds record of six (possibly seven) Best in Shows, eight Runner-up B.I.S., thirteen In Shows, thirty-five Best in Groups and twenty Runner-up B.I.G. plus countless challenges is the one of the best for a Stafford in NSW. Three of his Best in Show wins were at shows with the total entry over the 1,000 mark.

And what kind of Stafford was Pot Black the show dog? In his prime and at peak fitness he was an eye-catching animal of rugged beauty, standing proud and defiant and always equal to the best around, whatever the breed. Perhaps the best description of him is in Joyce Shorrock's critique from the October 1994 British Terrier Show - "A really super animal, sound in all departments with the much desired headshape we are all looking for. Broad skull with plenty of depth, distinct stop, good cheek muscles, short strong foreface, clean lips, lovely flowing lines, straight forequarters, well up on his feet which were well padded, good ribs, sound hindquarters, well let down hocks, moved like a train, carrying a wee bit too much weight. This dog was a pleasure to go over and could win with top honours anywhere."

HIS STUD CAREER

Ch Southstock Pot Black's influence as a stud force through his direct progeny and their descendants has been immense. To explore the complete picture would be a book in itself and it is hard to do full justice to the dog in this article. Whilst this part of the article concentrates on Pot Black as a sire, it should be borne in mind that in every successful mating the brood bitch has also played her part and the breeder, naturally, deserves the credit for having planned the mating in the first place.

Pot Black, as the records show sired forty-two litter over a nine-year period (1990-1999). Eighteen of those litters produced champions and so far he has produced thirty champions (17 dogs, 13 bitches) which makes him the greatest sire of champions so far in Australia. Apart from the champions he has sired himself, he is also behind over a hundred others. To try and track down the full story of his influence is rather like entering a labyrinth with so many paths to go down and these paths lead back and forth across the country encompassing many of the leading kennels. He has put his stamp, in varying degrees, on each state's breeding, as well as major show history. His major matings and progeny are as follows: His second mating Lorraine Riches' Ch Landaulad Topsy Turvey in 1990 produced four champions for her Solidrock kennels, Prime Mover, Point Blank, Pot Luck and Sargant Pepper. The latter pair of Pot Luck and Sargant Pepper were two of the top winning dogs in Victoria during the early 1990's. Sargant Pepper was the Best in Show winner at the 1991 Victorian Stafford Show. As stud dogs Pot Luck and Sargant Pepper carried on their sire's success, Pot Luck sired six champions including Gr Ch Striboss Black Boysey (B.I.S. 1994 Victorian Stafford Show and B.I.S. 1995 SA Stafford Show) and Gr Ch Tonohart China Doll. Another Pot Luck son, Striboss Cruise Control sired Ch Striboss Black Burwood, who in turn sired Ch Chablakmor Wild Violet (B.I.S. 1996 SA Stafford Show). Sargant Pepper sired eight champions including the very big winning and influential pair of Gr Ch Boldhart Booker Bates (B.I.S. 1999 Victorian Stafford Show) who himself has sired well in excess of twenty champions as well as Sanjarra Sakima Sherkhan (B.I.S. 1995 Vic Stafford Show) and Gr Ch Verysharp The Real McCoy, the country's biggest winning bitch at major shows. Booker Bates' litter sisters have also made their contributions - Ch Frivolus Fran being the dam of Ch Boldhart Fancies Fancy (C.C. and R.U.B.I.S. 1996 Vic Stafford Show) and Ch daisy Bates being the dam of Ch Borsatff Spoiled Darling (C.C. 1999 Vic Stafford Show). Another of Sargant Pepper's bitches was Ch Taurbeck Dorothea (C.C. & R.U.B.I.S. 1995 Vic Stafford Show). Prime Mover was not used as much as his two litter brothers however, he did produce two bitch champions for Boldhart kennels in Tiggy Tuchwood and Tabatha Twitchit, the dam of Ch Boldhart Olly Took (B.I.S. 2002 WA Stafford Show). Pot Black's third litter also enhanced his reputation as a stud dog when he was mated to the O'Brien's (Keltarjess) Ch Borstaff Betty Blokbusta. This litter produced three champions, Ben Hur, Big Mac and Little Gem. As a show bitch Ch Keltarjess Little Gem was the most successful produced by Pot Black, winning three C.C.'s at a specialty shows (1991 & 1993 NSW and 1994 Victoria), she was also a Sydney Royal and British Terrier C.C. winner. Her brother Big Mac was also a very competitive dog - the one litter he sired for Keltarjess kennels produced Ch Helga Honey and from this bitch succeeding generations have produced a succession of good winners in Ch Helgas Hunk, Ch Shannon Clare, Ch Mystery Girl, Shanis Girl, and Xena. A brother to Helga Honey, Keltarjess Samson is behind much of the success of the Sing's Cherabah kennels, siring Ch Ivory, Ch Son of Samson and Ch Charisma, the dam of Ch Angusstaff Pied Princess. Son of Samson himself sired Ch Cherabah Carbon Copy (C.C. & R.U.B.I.S. 1995 Queensland Stafford Show) and Ch Born To Be Wild (C.C. & R.U.B.I.S. 2000 Queensland Stafford Show). A litter brother to Big Mac, Keltarjess Mighty Mouth sired two champions in Ch Truhart Moonshadow and Ch Borstaff Hanky Bannister (B.I.S. 1995 NSW Stafford Show and C.C. 1996 SA Stafford Show). Moonshadow produced the influential sire Ch Truhart Black Night (B.O.B. 1996 Melbourne Royal), who in turn produced Ch Lockstaff Black Venom (B.I.S. 2000 Queensland Stafford Show and B.I.S. 2001 Vic Stafford Show) and Ch Chablakmor The Renegade (C.C. & R.U.B.I.S. 2000 NSW Stafford Show and B.I.S. 2002 NSW Stafford Show). Hanky Bannister has also proved to be a good sire of champion stock with progeny such as - Ch Hadjibah High Voltage and Ch Hadjibah Hanky Panky, both Melbourne Royal B.O.B. winners. Hanky Panky has also been successful as a sire producing the likes of Ch Moonacre Over The Moon (C.C. Vic Stafford Show and B.O.B. 1997 Vic STC Show) and Jenrana Ebony And Ivory (B.I.S 2002 NSW Stafford Show, C.C. and R.U.B.I.S. Vic Stafford Show and C.C. and R.U.B.I.S. 2002 SA Stafford Show). When Pot Black was used by the Hargraves in 1991 he produced the bitch Ch Southstock Idaho who when mated to G.R. Ch Striboss Black Boysey produced four champions for the Victorian Rufenredy prefix. Another 1991 mating to Gandange Brazen Belle produced Gandange Iron Maiden the dam of champion Gandange The Chief (B.I.S. 1999 NSW Stafford Show) and Ch Gandange Dakota Bell. The following year he was mated to the Doreen and Bob Jenks imported bitch Aus Ch Eastaff Perfidia - this litter produced Ch Soothsayer, the sire of Ch Boldhart Hugo Who (B.I.S. 1998 Vic Stafford Show). Soothsayer's litter sister Summer Storm when mater to the Aus Ch The Daring Knight (UK) produced Ch Pitstaff Unforgiven (C.C. British Terrier) who in turn sired Ch Tanaros Braveheart (C.C. 2002 Sydney Royal). In 1993 he sired another Queensland litter, this time for Pat O'Brien's Drogheda kennels, apart from another champion in Colonial Boy. It also produced Flame Jessica the foundation bitch of Willspride kennels and the grand dam of Ch Willspride Belle Du Belle (B.I.S. 2002 Queensland Stafford Show). His ability to sire even quality litters was again emphasized in 1997 with four more champions from Gr Ch Geordypride Wor Lass for Bultusker kennels - Ch Mighty Mystic (C.C. 1999 Queensland Stafford Show) the dam of Ch Awstruk Burning Ambition (B.O.B. 2001 Queensland STC Show) and Ch Awstruk Standing Ovation, Ch Toscanna, Ch Brittany Bell and Ch Toro Toro (R.C.C. winner at British Terrier and NSW Stafford Show), the sire of Ch Roughstock Let Em Talk (C.C. 2001 Sydney Royal). Age certainly didn't weary Pot Black as far as his stud work went - with five litters at ten years of age in 1998 and four more the following year at the ripe old age of eleven. Apart from the champions mentioned above he also sired the following: Ch Bustabones Widowmaker, Ch Zavstaff Black Betty, Ch Zavstaff Black Hatter (B.O.B. 1992 British Terrier), Ch Lestaff Jackpot, Ch Mataroo Yolgnu (C.C. 1993 British Terrier), Ch Mataroo Yindigindi, Ch Jingoistic Miss Collaroy (C.C. and R.U.B.O.B 1996 British Terrier), NZ Ch Tuareg Imagine That, Ch Cherabah Dirty Harry, Ch Castaspell Master Merlin, Ch Our Kama Foxy Lady, Ch Treasatch Paddys Brew, Ch Itsastaff Hot Secret, Ch Itsastaff Black Angel and Ch Kingstaff Potojewels.

Whilst the above has only been a fairly brief outline (and I hope it has not been too confusing) of Ch Southstock Pot Black's influence as stud dog - concentrating mainly on his big winners - we should not forge the huge number of other kennels (far too numerous to mention here) that owe their success - in part - to the presence of this great dog in their pedigrees.

 

TOPCROFT TOREADOR

Mr. W. McKNIGHT: (Belnite S.B.T.): "Ch Topcroft Toreador (1965-1976) had a terrific presence in the show ring. A rare commodity which singled him out from the rest. He was a powerhouse without coarseness and oozed personality. The head piece, proportionate in size to his build, was clean and beautifully shaped. A round dark eye projected the softest of expressions which could quickly change depending on the mood. Ideally balanced and in keeping with the Breed Standard, the muzzle formed one third of the overall length, (i.e. from the tip of the nose to the occiput.) An exceptionally well padded cranium sectioned by a deep centre line cleft, rose ears, (always alert), and a strong punishing underjaw completed the most important part of the dog's anatomy; the head being the Identifying feature of any Stafford, He had a very powerful front, deep brisket, clean shoulder lines supported by strong straight muscular legs resting on heavily cushioned cat-like feet; no weaknesses anywhere. The body had depth and spring of rib blending with his general stature. His rear quarters rippled in muscle when in motion; broad thick hams, well bent stifles; a good turn up of hocks (short and vertical) were a delight to the enthusiasts eye. A short, close, black brindle coat in full bloom whenever exhibited projected his individuality. On the move he propelled with purpose and always appeared to enjoy being shown. Sound free movement was just another of many attributes that made him one of the outstanding dogs of his time. The owner/exhibitor of Ch Topcroft Toreador, Harry Latham, was not a record seeker and because he was campaigning other Staffords, the dog was retired after winning his third C.C. Many Staffords will no doubt feature in this 'hall of fame' choice, each perhaps from different eras. I chose this dog for a variety of reasons, evident in the foregoing narrative, however, the pleasing visual aspect further embraced a brand of masculinity that was dominant in his sons and daughter's - an envious and infrequent turn of nature. During a short stud career (he was withdrawn prematurely) all types of bitches were covered but most of his progeny were almost a clone of himself. Ch Topcroft Toreador resided with an old couple, the husband being an invalid and the wife a frail person. In play his robust antics with others would quickly change to that of gentleness when his elderly companions called him to order - a shining example of high intelligence, tenacity and steadfast reliability. Second choice is Ch Eastaff Danom."