The Darley Arabian was one of three dominant foundation sires of modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock, the other two being the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk. This bay Arabian horse was bought in Aleppo, Syria by Thomas Darley in 1704 and shipped back to Aldby Park in England, where he stood at stud, usually private but sometimes open to outside mares. By all accounts, the Darley Arabian stood about 15 hands high and was of substantial beauty and refinement.[1]
The Darley Arabian sired Flying Childers and he was the great-great-grandsire of the extremely influential Eclipse. The Darley Arabian was to become the most important sire in the history of the English Thoroughbred.[1]
Recent research found that in 95% of modern Thoroughbred racehorses, the Y-chromosome can be traced back to this single stallion.[2]
Darley is from the Ma’anagi Hidraji stud, which was originally from the Ma’anagi Sbeyli stud that Meq'ed Ibn H'ddri had looted from the Ibn Sbyel clan in a battle in the middle of 19th century. Thus, this unique stud had increased within his grasp and changed its name from Ma’anagi Sbeyli to Ma’anagi Hidraji except the ones that the Ibn Sbyel kept [3][4][5][6] .