THE SADDLE BREEDS OF HORSES 111 



Levant. His most notable importation was of the Barb 

 mares, commonly known as the King's or Royal mares, 

 which are regarded by some authorities as the foundation 

 dams of the true blood horse. Others, however, doubt 

 the accuracy of thus limiting the base of the breed. 



126. Important sires. --The three most important 

 oriental sires in the foundation of the Thoroughbred were 

 the Darley Arabian, now known to have been a pure-bred 

 Anazeh, imported in 1706; the Byerly Turk, imported 

 in 1689 ; and the Godolphin Barb, brought in 1724 from 

 Paris, where he was found hauling a water-cart, having 

 been discarded, no doubt, by some member of the royal 

 family to whom he had been presented. Eclipse, the 

 greatest horse of his kind, is a direct descendant four 

 generations removed from the Darley Arabian, as were 

 also Blaze, three generations removed, the foundation 

 Hackney sire, and Imported Messenger, six generations 

 removed, the foundation American trotter sire. From 

 the Byerly Turk comes King Herod, another noted sire, 

 while Matchem, a great race horse and successful sire, 

 was a grandson of the Godolphin Barb. Furthermore, 

 Justin Morgan, who shares honors with Imp. Messenger, 

 already referred to as a foundation American sire, is said 

 to be a direct descendant of Godolphin Barb. It is claimed 

 that American Thoroughbreds, as a rule, are less remote 

 from their oriental ancestry than the average English 

 horse, and that they follow more closely their type. 



127. Purpose for which bred. Thoroughbreds have 

 been bred for nearly three centuries under a most rigid 

 system of selection, turf performance alone being the 

 standard. The high degree of equine perfection exempli- 

 fied by the best Thoroughbred individuals, as well as the 

 prominence to which the breed has attained, can be at- 



