Horse

1724 - 1753

The Godolphin Arabian was foaled in Yemen in approximately 1724. He was one of three great, Eastern stallions imported to England between 1689 and 1730. Together with the Byerley Turk and the Darley Arabian they founded enduring bloodlines from which all modern thoroughbreds in the world descend. Little is known about the origins of the Godolphin Arabian. He was said to have been given to King Louis XV of France by the Bey of Tunis in 1730. Later, Edward Coke acquired him for his stud at Longford Hall, Derbyshire. Upon Coke's death, the ownership of the Arabian passed to his friend, Francis, 2nd Earl of Godolphin, where it acquired the name the Godolphin Arabian. He never raced but spent his life at the Earl's stud farm at Gog-Magog, near Cambridge, where he died on Christmas day, 1753. The Godolphin Arabian was a prolific stallion and the present lot is extensively inscribed with details of his progeny, among the most successful of these were Lath, Cades, Regulus, Babraham, Dormouse and Bajazet. Many great modern racehorses, such as Sea Biscuit and Man O'War, have descended from the Godolphin Arabian.