Page 23 - November 2015

THE HEROD, SNAP,
AND BLANK NICK
The story of full siblings
by Larry Thornton
We have defined a “nick” as the mating of a stallion and a mare, or the mat- ing of a stallion to the daughters of another stallion, that produces outstanding foals. It is easy to look back in the pedigree history of both the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse and see some important nicks.
I have often referred to the use of collateral relatives when discussing line breeding. The collateral relatives are the
full brothers and sisters or 3/4-brothers and sisters that appear together in the pedigree. This form of line breeding allows you to take advantage of the different genes that can be inherited from the parents as the full and/or 3/4-siblings inherit many of the same genes from the parents, but still we have differences because we don‘t inherit all of the same genes. Through line breeding to collateral relatives, however, we can put a
and the purchase of a mare named Julia, who was purchased by the third Duke
of Grafton. She was a seven-year-old mare sired by Blank and out of a Partner Mare. Julia became the dam of two very prominent fillies for the Grafton Stud: Princess by Herod, and Promise by Snap.
Promise became the dam of Prunella, who was sired by Highflyer. Promise foaled Penelope by Trumpator. Penelope was the dam of Whalebone, Web and Whisker; all sired by Waxy by Pot 8 O’s. It is through these three siblings that the Grafton Stud made a big part of their contribution to the Thoroughbred as well as to the Quarter Horse.
Whalebone must be considered the strongest link in this influence. He was a successful racehorse, winning such stakes as the Derby Stakes, Newmarket Stakes, and the Northhamption Gold Cup. He also won the King’s Plate four times. He was a successful sire with foals like Lap Dog and Spaniel, both Derby Stakes winners. He was the leading champion sire in 1826. Whalebone went on to prove a powerful influence in the Darley Arabian sire line.
wider variety of the genes from the parents into the foals being produced.
When we combine the breeding practices of nicks and collateral relatives, we come
up with some important contributions to the Quarter Horse and the Thoroughbred. One of the early examples of successful collateral line breeding was the crossing of foals connected to the full brothers and sister Whalebone, Whisker and Web.
The story of these three siblings begins when King Charles II reigned in England, Scotland and Ireland from 1651 to 1685. Despite the fact that King Charles II was married to Catherine de Braganza, they had no children. However, King Charles II was noted for his many mistresses and one of them was Barbara Villiers, who became the Duchess of Cleveland. It is through his mistresses that King Charles II became the father of many children. Barbara Villiers reportedly gave birth to five children from her affair with King Charles II. The second son born to Charles II and the Duchess of Cleveland was named Henry Fitzroy.
As the story goes, King Charles II provided for his many illegitimate children and Henry Fitzroy was no exception. Each child who could prove his paternity would receive a pension to live on. In 1675, King Charles II made his son Henry Fitzroy the Duke of Grafton. King Charles II arranged a marriage of Henry with Isabella, a daughter of Henry Benet, Earl of Arlington. Henry was sixteen and Isabella was twelve when they were married.
The power of the Fitzroy family as
horse breeders did not begin with the first Duke, but with Augustus Henry Fitzroy, the third Duke of Grafton and a great grandson of the first Duke of Grafton. It should be noted here that the third Duke of Grafton was the Prime Minister of England from 1768 to 1770. The fourth Duke of Grafton followed in his father’s footsteps
as a sportsman and racing enthusiast. His name was George Henry Fitzroy and he also served as a Prime Minister of England.
Our story now turns to the horses
Whalebone, Whisker and Web begins with King Charles II
One of the earliest examples of successful collateral line breeding was the crossing of foals connected to full siblings Whalebone, Whisker and Web, the story which began through an illegitimate child of King Charles II who became a horse breeder.
Whalebone painting by J.F. Herring from an original picture
in the possession of the
Earl of Edgemont.
Whalebone is considered to be one of the strongest contributors to the Thoroughbred and
Quarter Horse breeds.
SPEEDHORSE, November 2015 21
SPEEDLINES
courtesy Keeneland