The Darley Arabian was one of three dominant foundation sires of modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock, the other two being the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk. This bay Arabian horse was bought in Aleppo, Syria by Thomas Darley in 1704 and shipped back to Aldby Park in England, where he stood at stud, usually private but sometimes open to outside mares. By all accounts, the Darley Arabian stood about 15 hands high and was of substantial beauty and refinement.[1]
The Darley Arabian sired Flying Childers and he was the great-great-grandsire of the extremely influential Eclipse. The Darley Arabian was to become the most important sire in the history of the English Thoroughbred.[1]
Recent research found that in 95% of modern Thoroughbred racehorses, the Y-chromosome can be traced back to this single stallion.
References
- "95% of thoroughbreds linked to one superstud" New Scientist. 6 September 2005.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
