Although dozens of horses, both native and foreign, became the progenitors of the English Thoroughbred, three names have been engraved into history books more than any other. These three exotic stallions, so different from the sturdy stock of the British Isles, could be considered the forefathers of the breed. All modern Thoroughbreds trace back to one of these sires through a direct male line; this is why their names are above all others, like cream rising to the top.
The first was a dark stallion brought from Turkey by a Captain Byerley in the last part of the 17th century. Horse and master fought together in numerous battles for King William, including the famous Battle of the Boyne, and retired together as well. He became well-known as the Byerley Turk and began to sire some fabulous horses, including Basto, who resided at the same Chatsworth Estate as the great Flying Childers.
A little later down the line, a direct descendant of Byerley's stallion was born that would insure the continuation of his line into the present-day. Herod - who raced as King Herod - was strikingly handsome and a very nice racehorse, but proved himself truly worthy as a legend in the breeding shed. His most famous racing son, Highflyer, was undefeated in fourteen starts and stood at stud for Richard Tattersall, the founder of Tattersalls Sales Company. Herod also sired Florizel, the sire of Diomed, who won the very first English Derby. Diomed, in turn, was a direct male descendant of Boston and Lexington, a sire and son who were two of the first great American racehorses.
However, Herod's male line - and the Byerley Turk's as well - does not live on to the present day through Highflyer. Instead, the sireline continues to hang on through another son, Woodpecker, who was a good racehorse and even beat Pot-8-os, Eclipse's most prolific son, on the racetrack. Horses like the great gray racehorse The Tetrarch and two-time Arc de Triomphe winner Ksar trace their male line back to Woodpecker, as do more recent names like Notnowcato and Dunaden.
The Byerley Turk's male line is by far the smallest of the three, by both numbers and popularity. The foundation stallion that followed him would create a dynasty to outweigh them both.
Unlike the older Turk, who was a war horse, the Arabian that Thomas Darley smuggled out of Syria was a bay colt of the finest breeding. The stallion, though seemingly athletic, never raced, and instead stood at stud near Yorkshire, where he covered the finest mares in the area. His most famous two sons were full brothers, both out of a mare named Betty Leedes and both bred by a Colonel Childers. One was named Devonshire or Flying Childers; this swift son became the most celebrated racehorse of his time. The other was Bartlett's Childers, sometimes called Bleeding Childers due to his inability to race or train, breaking blood vessels easily.
Flying Childers sired a number of nice horses, but it was his unraced brother who would continue their sire's male line to the present. Three generations after Bartlett's Childers, Eclipse was born. Some consider the chestnut colt, untouchable in 18 starts, to be the greatest racehorse of all time. Eclipse raced for the charming Irish adventurer Dennis O'Kelly and stood stud for him as well. It has been said that Eclipse is the tail-male ancestor of nearly every living Thoroughbred, and this statement is not far-fetched in the least. The line that passes through his son Pot-8-os and then through Waxy, Whalebone, and so on, is the most popular in the world.
Nearly all of our prized racehorses trace back to horses like Cyllene, Eclipse and, of course, the Darley Arabian. There is one last sire-line, however, that is still represented in today's breed.
The last of the three founding fathers of all Thoroughbreds was brought to life in Marguerite Henry's book King of the Wind. Though many of the stories in that book seem to be legend - claims of his being a carthorse in France has never been verified - it is true that he changed from hand to hand before settling in with the Earl of Godolphin, who gave him his name. Like the other two foundation sires, he never raced but became a great sire of racehorses. His three greatest sons - Cade, Lath, and Regulus - gave their sire's name great weight amongst his peers in the breeding shed by becoming some of the greatest racehorses of their generation.
It was Cade, though, that would carry the Godolphin Arabian's male line to the present-day. His son Matchem was an older contemporary of Eclipse and Highflyer, and all three became great sires. Matchem's son Conductor was very important in the breeding shed; he was the direct male descendant of England's first Triple Crown winner, West Australian. Through West Australian came a sireline that many are quite familiar with - first Spendthrift, then Hastings, then Fair Play and finally the magnificent Man O' War, who demolished several American speed records and who is lauded as one of the greatest racehorses of the 20th century.
Fittingly, Man O' War is the main source of the Godolphin Arabian male line that still remains. His son War Relic sired Intent, who was the forerunner of the In Reality sire-line, a family that eventually led to two-time Breeders' Cup Classic winner Tiznow. The popularity of Tiznow and his sons have brought this line back into the spotlight, and it seems to not be going anywhere for a while, at least in the United States.
There were many other foreign stallions imported to England in the 17th and 18th centuries with the intent of improving the blood of the racehorse. These names - names like Hautboy, Snake and the Lister Turk - can be found in almost every pedigree. But what seems to mark a truly great sire is his ability to produce great sons, and in this regard, the three kings of the Thoroughbred breed left their mark on horses born centuries after their death.
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