History:
The enthusiasm of the British aristocracy and its kings for horse racing
was decisive for the development of the English thoroughbred horse towards
the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The three
stallions "Byerly Turk", "Darley Arabian" and "Godolphin Barb" that were
imported from the orient at that time were the foundation sires of the
horses that are the fastest horses in the world today. They were crossbred
with local racing horses (presumably with the meanwhile extinct English
Galloways and Irish Hobbies) and for the first time a breed came into being
whose breeding had only one selection criterion namely that of speed. The
thoroughbred breed has successfully spread right around the world from its
initial English base.
Racehorses and sires:
The three foundation sires of thoroughbred breeding, Byerly Turk
(Turkmen), Darley Arabian (pure-bred Arab) and Godolphin Barb (presumably a
Berber) brought forth the most important founders of bloodlines via their
progeny. The most famous of these is the 1764 born Eclipse, who left the
racecourse undefeated. Together with Herod and Match'em he belonged to the
troika of the most important sires of the 18th century. The likewise
unbeaten St. Simon, who was born in 1881 is regarded as the most significant
sire of the 19th century. These were followed in the 20th century by
Hyperion, born in 1930 and Nearco who was bred in Italy in 1935. Nearco
today appears in 95% of the pedigrees of the winners of the classical
English/Irish races. The 1917 born Man O'War is considered up to today as
the best racehorse of the American continent. German thoroughbred breeding
has literally made a giant leap forward over the past few decades, among
others through stallions such as Tiger Hill and his son Sumitas. German
thoroughbred breeding can meanwhile holds its own successfully in the
concert of the traditional selective breeding centres of England, Ireland,
France, the USA and Italy.
Features:
These sensitive, lively horses, which at first were bred purely for
horseracing, are today often also to be found in competition sport and in
leisure time horse riding. The English thoroughbred has played a decisive
role in the upgrading of all the German Warmblood breeds.
