ENGLISH TEXTS
analyzed the pedigrees of winners of England’ s top races, beginning with the Epsom Derby. Lowe traced the female lines of these champions as far back as possible, then assigned numbers to each family based on how many winners came from it. The most prestigious in his ranking is the family of the mare Tregonwell’ s Natural Barb Mare, who, judging by her name, was likely of Barb descent. This family was given the number 1. Bruce Lowe’ s painstaking work was published posthumously in 1895 and has stood the test of time. The numbering system he introduced, 43 maternal families according to his research, is still in use today. The number of families was later increased to fifty, then to seventy-four. When you look at the detailed pedigree of a modern thoroughbred, the family number appears under the names of both sires and dams.
Only 33 founding mares A study by the genetics department at Trinity College Dublin, published in 2002, challenged not only the number of lines but also the genetic origin of the thoroughbred breed as a whole! By analyzing mitochondrial DNA, which is passed exclusively from the mother, researchers demonstrated that the actual number of thoroughbred foundation mares is just thirty-three. Some matriarchs previously believed to be unrelated were found to share a common genetic heritage. An- other major finding, this time from a 2010 study by a group of British scientists involving samples from 1,929 horses, concerns the origins of the Royal Mares. It had long been assumed they were mostly of Oriental origin, like the stallions imported at the time. However, the majority actually came from a more cosmopolitan European background. Genetic analysis shows that 61 % of the founding broodmares were native British or Irish mares, 31 % were Oriental( excluding Arabians), likely Barbs or Akhal-Tekes, and only 8 % were Arabians. The Royal Mares imported by the will of Charles II and his successors therefore do not deserve full credit for the creation of the thoroughbred- far from it!
THE FOUNDA- TION STALLIONS
Three founding sires, all of Oriental origin, are the patriarchs of the thoroughbred. They are known as the“ foundation stallions”: Byerley Turk, born in 1680, was nearly black. His birthplace remains unknown, and thoroughbred genealogist Thierry Grandsir even suggests on the DNA Pedigree website that the stallion, although Arabian, may have been born in England. Darley Arabian was born in 1702 in the Syrian desert near Palmyra. He was purchased at the age of two by Sir Thomas Darley, the British consul in Aleppo. Darley Arabian is the great-great-grandfa- ther of Eclipse, the“ Adam of the Thoroughbred,” who appears in almost every modern pedigree via direct male line. Godolphin Arabian, born in Yemen in 1724, was reportedly a gift to King Louis XV from the Bey of Tunis. However, he had a rough journey and ended up pulling a cart in the streets of Paris. Englishman Edward Cook noticed the small horse, about 1.48 meters tall, and bought him. Godolphin Arabian then traveled to England and was sold to Lord Godolphin, hence his name. Legend has it he began his stud career in the lowly role of teaser stallion! Byerley Turk, Darley Arabian, and Godolphin Arabian are respectively the ancestors of Herod, Eclipse, and Matchem- the three primary founding sires of the English Thoroughbred.
WHAT’ S IN A NAME
Horses long went without names, which complicates the study of old pedigrees. In the 17 th and 18 th centuries, they were described by breed, coat color, and owner’ s identity. Darley Arabian, for instance, means“ Mr. Darley’ s Arabian.” But these descriptors could obviously change over time—“ Mr. X’ s Barb” could become“ Mr. Y’ s Barb” after a sale! Thierry Grandsir cites the example of Alcock Arabian, born in 1704, who reportedly changed names fourteen times over his lifetime! He
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