ROBERTS, James; Henry Robert

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Sportsman's Companion, An attractive compilation of plates portraying the greatest race horses of the early 18th century, with short narratives detailing their pedigree and race record, especially intended for the use and entertainment of the nobility, the gentry, and horse breeders. It includes some of the founding sires of the British Thoroughbred horse racing stock, and their descendants. Godolphin Arabian (1724-53), here called "Bay Arabian", was an Arabian horse and one of three "fathers" of the British Thoroughbred horse racing stock; it became "a private stallion soon after his arrival in this Kingdom, and got a greater Number of fine Horses of just Temper with superior speed than any Arab ever did". Among the remainder, all active in the 1710s to the 1750s, are Old Scar, sired by the Oglethorpe Arabian; Brokelsby Betty, sired by Lister Turk; Crab, sired by Alcock Arabian; Lath, Babraham, Bajazet, and Regulus, sired by Godolphin Arabian; and Basto, sired by Byerley Turk, the earliest of the three founding stallions. While the first edition was published about 1760, the work continued to be reprinted well into the 1820s, as shown by the watermark on this copy, dated 1824.

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