| D'Arcy Yellow Turk | |
|---|---|
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | c. 1670 |
| Colour | Palomino orSorrel |
| Owner | James D'Arcy |
D'Arcy Yellow Turk[1] (c. 1670 - ) orDarcy's Yellow Turk[2] was a foundation sire of theThoroughbred breed. His influence is evident throughout the breed due to his lineage being traced to all three officially recognized foundation sires,Matchem,Herod, andEclipse. Each descends at least four lines back to this sire, with Eclipse descending six.
His color has been disputed as his color was not listed in theGeneral Stud Book. However, he was identified as one of D'Arcy'sChestnut Arabians, yet he was also called the "Yellow Turk". Since the term "gold" was familiar during this time period, the use of "yellow" in his name allows speculation regarding what his color actually was. A number of horses during this time period were described in the inventory of theTutbury Stud as "sorrill" and the color "chestnut" appears to not exist as a naming option. It appears reasonable to presume that "yellow" may have been used to indicatepalomino given the other color options available at the time.[2] However, it is possible he wasSorrel despite this evidence.[1]
D'Arcy Yellow Turk was believed to be owned/managed byJames D'Arcy, stud master toKing Charles II of England. A horse by the name of Dodsworth, possibly owned by either the king or the Dodsworth family, was involved with D'Arcy, though none of the horse imports are credited to the king nor the Dodsworth family, but rather to D'Arcy. It has been speculated by research done for the racehorseHighflyer that the D'Arcy Yellow Turk is the same horse as Dodsworth.[2]
His best son wasSpanker, who was covering mares around 1689, and sired notable sons Old Careless, St Martin, and Young Spanker. Also, there are at least nine daughters of Spanker that appear in the General Stud Book. One daughter of Spanker became the dam ofJigg (by theByerley Turk), sire ofPartner, who was in turn the grandsire ofHerod and damsire ofMatchem.[2][1]
Another important son was Brimmer, who sired a notable son named Burford Bull, as well as 11 daughters that appear with progeny in the General Stud Book. This includes the foundation mare for Family #70 who was the third dam ofSquirrel, and the fourth dam ofMatchem, and the fifth dam ofEclipse.[2][1]
The Oglethorpe Arabian, another son, was the sire of the influential sire Makeless, sire of Brown Farewell (granddam ofMatchem), the dam ofBay Bolton, the dam of Hartley's Blind Horse, and the Scarborough mare.[2][1]
Bay Dodsworth (out of Dodsworth; probably D'Arcy Yellow Turk) was the sire of the 5th dam of Hutton's Surley, whose sister was in turn the 5th dam ofMarske, the sire ofEclipse. Bay Dodsworth would therefore be the sire of mare Family #8. Also, it is possible that his daughter was the mare as Dickey Pierson Mare of Family #2.[2]