It’s always fun to look up the ancestry of your horse. And, let’s just say I hope Wiley’s isn’t providing a hint to his future. Oh sure it was full of cool stuff like tracing him back to the Godolphin and Darley Arabians. And, Wiley’s sire line is full of historic UK thoroughbreds like Hambletonian (the racer not the trotter), Eclipse (the 1700’s undefeated Tbred). But it is the lesser known names that concern me. In the 1700s, horse names tended to be very descriptive. There are a lot of names like Darcy’s Yellow Turk, Darcy’s White Turk and even Miss Darcy’s Pet Mare. So imagine my surprise when I discovered names like Clumsey, Clubfoot, SoreHeels, and Sister to SoreHeels throughout Wiley’s dam side. My personal favorite name, however, goes to Sister of Country Wench. I am hoping that this is a preservation of 1700’s humor and not a hint at what kind of quality they were breeding back in the day!
DelMarHorseGirl
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