SIRES INFLUENTIAL IN AMERICA BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR
Horses chosen for this section appear because their names underpin many Morgan, Quarter Horse, Saddlebred, Standardbred and Tennessee Walking Horse pedigrees. These stallions and others whose likenesses have not come down to us were the driving force that shaped American horse breeding before the disaster of the Civil War.
Highflyer (1774) by Herod, out of Rachel by Blank. By contrast to Gimcrack, Highflyer appears in the pedigrees of literally thousands of Americanbred horses—Saddlebreds, Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds. Highflyer possesses two crosses each to the Godolphin and Byerly, two to Curwen’s Bay Barb, and three to the Darley, so it should not be surprising that
Diomed (1777), imported in 1798 when he was 21 years old. Diomed is by Florizel, who traces in sire line to the Byerly Turk, and out of a mare by Spectator, tracing back in sire-line through Crab to Curwen’s Bay Barb, with her tailfemale going to Old Bald Peg. Though he had had a successful racing career, Diomed earned a reputation for nasty temperament and was never a popular sire in England. In his old age, his owner let him go for the equivalent of about two hundred dollars to an American importer.
Gimcrack (1760, not imported). By Cripple by the Godolphin out of Miss Elliot, Gimcrack was one of the early heat-racing superstars. His dam was by Jigg by the Byerly Turk, with tail-female to the Lister Turk and Royal Hobby. This shapely and substantial horse sired imported Clockfast (1774), a very popular sire in Virginia in his day. Gimcrack’s American bloodline, like so many others, was cut off by the massive loss of horseflesh during the Civil War and does not survive today.
his get were numerous and known for soundness and stamina as well as speed. Highflyer’s most important influence in America comes through his son Rockingham (1781), sire of Castianira (1796), the dam of the hugely influential Sir Archy. The most famous son of Highflyer is Sir Peter Teazle (1784), who sired dozens of excellent flat-track racers. Sir Peter sired the imported Haphazard (1797), sire of Filho-da-Puta (1812) and the fast-trotting mare Velocity (circa 1780), she out of a mare of unknown parentage.
Once he arrived here, the stallion quickly found a full book and a new lease on life. Diomed founded an American dynasty of iron-tough yet fleet flat-track stayers who dominated both track and breeding shed for most of the 19th century. A complete review of Diomed’s influence would require a book, but briefly we may mention his sons Ball’s Florizel (1801), sire of a dozen influential Southern mares and stallions; Duroc (1806), sire of the widely influential American Eclipse (1814) and Sir Archy (1805). Diomed’s name appears in the pedigrees of Saddlebreds, Standardbreds and Tennessee Walking Horses as well as Thoroughbreds.