A short overview of the history of the Thoroughbred
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As most serious thoroughbred breeders will know, ALL thoroughbreds trace back to only three Stallions.
| The DARLEY ARABIAN 1700 |
via ECLIPSE 1764 |
| The BYERLEY TURK 1680 |
via HEROD 1758 |
| The GODOLPHIN ARABIAN 1724 |
via MATCHEM 1748 |
The BYERLEY TURK comes to us today via the lines of TOURBILLON in line such as CENTURY, TWIG MOSS, CLARION, BLAKENEY and a few other lines. The only other BYERLEY TURK line available today is THE TETRARCH line of which there is very little available today in Australia, but France and South American seem to have some stallions from this line available.
The GODOLPHIN ARABIAN comes to us today via the lines of FAIR PLAY in lines such as MAN O'WAR, DISPLAY, WINDFIELDS and a few other lines.
The only other GODOLPHIN ARABIAN line available today is the HURRY ON line of which SUMMERTIME is a representative and SO CALLED is one of the last survivors.
The DARLEY ARABIAN is the progenitor of ALL OTHER LINES available today. The array of outstanding individuals in this tail male line is truly outstanding. ST SIMON, CARBINE, TEDDY, COMMANDO, PHALARIS-NEARCO, RIBOT, PRINCEQUILLO, GAINSBOROUGH, BLANDFORD, SON-IN-LAW, NATIVE DANCER etc - most of which are having a tremendous impact to this very day. By far the largest impact today is still being exerted by the descendants of NEARCO, a horse which was bred by the incomparable MASTER OF MATINGS- SENATORE FEDERICO TESIO - the WIZARD of DORMELLO.
Today NORTHERN DANCER (foaled 1961) seems to be by far the most popular progenitor of sires in the world. This of course is not only to the detriment of all other sire-lines, but in time will turn the Thoroughbred into another kind of Quarter horse and eventually render the offspring infertile.
To counteract this trend, today's thoroughbred breeders will have to look ahead to plan with a view to correctly match their mares.
To correctly match a mare includes knowing which lines are compatible and which lines negate the good qualities between the mare and the stallion, so that the offspring have virtually no chance of making profits for their owners at the race track or in the breeding barn.
Whilst the breeding game will always have some element of chance in it, any breeder intending to be successful will always seek the help of the best available student of thoroughbred genetics. The small amount of money spent before an actual mating may save time, money and heartbreak in the long run. After all, everyone wants to breed stakes winners - and if possible champions.
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