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son, Goliath, and Favourite, twelve stone plate Horses. Desdemona 

 and others; many of the best mares in the country, having bred from 

 him. The D'Arcy white and yellow Turks, from which sprang 

 old Hautboy, Grey Royal, Cannon, Spanker, Brimmer, &c. The 

 Marshal, or Selaby Turk, sire of the Curwen Old Spot. 



The reign of Queen Anne was as favourable to the Turf as any which 

 had preceded, or have succeeded it. Her majesty had a fine stud of 

 Horses, and her royal consort George, Prince of Denmark, was a 

 great amateur of horse-racing. The Prince obtained from her majesty 

 grants of royal plates for several places. In this reign sportsmen bred 

 from The Curwen Bay Barb, The Thou louse Barb, Croft's Bay 

 Barb, a son of Chillaby, the famous Darley Arabian, sire of Flying 

 Childers, The Leeds and Woodstock Arabians, Williams's Turk, 

 called also The Honeywood white Arabian, the St. Victor's Barb, 

 Cole's Barb, and from many others. 



Mr. Darley, of a sporting family in Yorkshire, being a mercantile 

 agent in the Levant, and belonging to a hunting club, probably at 

 Aleppo, made interest to purchase a Horse, one of the most valuable 

 ever imported into England, and which fully established the worth of 

 the Arabian breed, which had suffered in reputation, either from, the 

 presumed, or real worthlessness of the Horse purchased of Markham, 

 by King James the First. Between these periods, few or no Arabians had 

 been imported, but subsequently to Mr. Darley's successful speculation, 

 their numbers have been considerable, and to some of them we are 

 indebted for a part of the best racing stock in the country. 



The current of fashion running very strong in favour of Horse-racing 

 during the Queen's reign, and the diversion being much countenanced 

 by the court, have given rise to an opinion, that too much attention 

 Avas bestowed in those days on the racing-breed, to the prejudice of the 

 more immediately serviceable varieties of the Horse. In a small pub- 

 lication, of the date of 1769, on the subject of horse-races and their pro- 

 gress, the author, following the opinion of Sir Edward Harwood already 

 noticed, observes, that in the reign of Queen Anne, gentlemen ' bred 

 their Horses so fine for the sake of speed only,' that they became 

 quite useless; when a public-spirited gentleman, aware of this error, be- 

 queathed 



