A ll thoroughbred horses are descended from one of three foundation sires. The earliest of these, The Byerley Turk, is thought to be foaled between 1675 and 1680. The Byerley Turk was a fine charger, seized from the Turks by Captain Robert Byerley at the battle of Buda, in 1686 and brought back to England. The stallion from the east served as Captain Byerley’s war horse when he was later dispatched to Ireland during King William’s War. Described at the time as a horse of elegance, courage and speed, legend has it, that when attempting to survey an enemy position, Captain Byerley narrowly avoided capture but for the exceptional deftness of his mount. THE BYERLEY THIS RACE IS NAMED IN HONOUR OF THE BYERLEY TURK, THE FIRST OF THREE FOUNDATION SIRES OF THOROUGHBRED BLOODSTOCK.
The Byerley Turk, handcoloured etching after John Wootton. Source: VRC Collection
When Captain Byerley retired from the military the Turk was put to stud first at the family property at Middridge Grange in County Durham and later at the family seat at Goldsborough Hall in Yorkshire. The Byerley Turk’s most important offspring was Jigg the grand-sire of Herod, a stallion who is considered to be one of the foundation sires of the modern thoroughbred. Herod’s progeny are responsible for carrying The Byerley Turk line through into the twenty-first century.
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