CHAPTER X 

 LINES OF BLOOD 



Evolution of the English thoroughbred — The origin from the East — Arabs, 

 Barbs, Turks, and Persians — Wonderful increase in size — Stamina greater in 

 Eastern breeds — Speed a modern development — Stayers more numerous than 

 suspected — Four-mile heats v. sprints — The limit of pedigrees — The descent 

 of Eclipse goes back to Eastern sires — Their mating with native mares — 

 Royal mares — Table showing pedigree of Eclipse — Inbreeding — Lord 

 D'Arcy's importations — Noted descendants of Eclipse — The Birdcatcher line — 

 Isonomy — Isinglass — ^Janissary — The Stockwell line — Blair Athol — Ormonde, 

 Orme, and Goldfinch — Kendal and Ormonde — Which was the better ? — Their 

 private trial — Galtee More well sold for ^20,000 — Handsomest thoroughbred 

 of modern times — Melton — Line ol Camel— The Newminster family — Hermit 

 — His extraordinary stud career — Characteristics of his get — Hermit mares as 

 breeders — The Hampton family — Bought out of a Selling Race — His great 

 race for the Northumberland Plate — Some of his descendants — The Touch- 

 stone line — Line of Tramp — His ancestors and descendants — A line to be 

 encouraged — Line of Blacklock — The best staying family of to-day — King 

 Fergus — Hambletonian — Whitelock — The St. Simon-Galopin family out of 

 a ;^3 mare — Descriptions of Blacklock — Voltigeur — Galopin — St. Simon — 

 The St. Simons as galloping machines — St. Simon's career — Ormonde or 

 St. Simon the better horse? — Persimmon — Coupled with Harkaway as the 

 horse of the century — Line of Herod — Four celebrated lines of descendants — 

 Line of Godolphin — Matchem to Barcaldine — West Australian — The pick of 

 England — Winning stock of Barcaldine. 



THE DARLEY ARABIAN 



THE LINE OF SIR HERCULES 



WE can be tolerably certain that " running horses " 

 were held in high esteem in this country as far 

 back as the ninth century. Whether the horse was in- 

 digenous to Britain, or was imported hither from France, 

 is still a debatable point after all that has been written ; 

 but everything that can be traced bears witness to the fact 

 that in no other country in the world, with the possible 

 exception of Arabia, has the horse been regarded with such 

 respect, or affection one might almost say, as in England. 

 For the past two hundred and fifty years generation after 

 generation of horse lovers has devoted its best energies 



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