154 



A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH TURF. 



Natural Barb Mare of Mr. Trcgonwcll, great-granddam of Sir W. Ramsden's 

 Byerly Turk mare, of whom I had something to say in the last chapter ; Burton' 's 

 Natural Barb Marc ; Mr. Bowes' Byerly Turk mare, who was the dam of the two 

 True Blues ; and the Layton Barb Mare. In the shortest consideration of early blood 

 stock the value of these mares ought now to be given just as much prominence as 

 that of the three great sires who have hitherto been placed on a pinnacle of too 

 isolated splendour. The four I have selected out of some fifty possibilities can all 

 be traced in the First Volume (Fifth Edition) of the General Stud Book, on pages 

 5, 4, 5 and 12 respectively. Their influence upon bloodstock on the English Turf 

 from the beginning of the 

 eighteenth century up to 

 the present day has been 

 most extraordinary, as can 

 be seen by tracing all the 

 thoroughbred families in 

 the female line to these 

 original mares, nine or ten 

 of whom appear in every 

 first-class modern pedi- 

 gree. If the results of all 

 the races for the Two 

 Thousand, One Thousand, 

 Derby, Oaks, and Leger, 

 and of the Ascot, Good- 

 wood, and DoncasterCups 

 be all tabulated together, up to the close of the nineteenth century, it will be found 

 that 98 winners can trace their pedigree in direct female line to Mr. TregonwelCs 

 Natural Barb Mare, 81 to Burtons Barb Mare, 85 to the Dam of the two True Blues, 

 66 to the Layton Barb Mare, and (if I may add a fifth example) 53 to the Daughter 

 of Massey's Black Barb, who was granddam of Old Ebony. The figures here given 

 may be accepted as correct, for they have been worked out independently by three 

 separate inquirers, and the investigation has brought other interesting facts to light. 

 The first of these five families, for instance, though it has produced the greatest 

 number of winners, has by no means been the most prolific. In other words, its 

 percentage of victories to runners has been very high, and that in turn presupposes 



The Duke of Sol fan's "Fearnought." 



By permission nf H.R.H. Prince Christian. 



