Sir Archy (or Archy, Archie, or Sir Archie; 1805–1833) was an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

considered one of the best racehorses of his time and later one of the most important sires in American history. He was inducted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

in the inaugural class of 1955.

Early life

Born and bred in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

by two Americans, Capt. Archibald Randolph and Col. John Tayloe III, Sir Archy's sire was the inaugural Epsom Derby winner Diomed, who had been imported from

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as an older horse by Tayloe. His dam, a blind mare named Castianira, had been purchased in England by Tayloe for his own Mount Airy Farm, but was bred on shares with his friend Randolph. Sir Archy, Castianira's second foal, was born on Randolph's Ben Lomond Plantation on the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

in Goochland County. The colt, dark bay with a small patch of white on his right hind

pastern The pastern is a part of the leg of a horse between the fetlock and the top of the hoof. It incorporates the Equine_forelimb_anatomy#Metacarpal_bones, long pastern bone (proximal phalanx) and the Equine_forelimb_anatomy#Middle_phalanx, short past ...

, was originally named "Robert Burns"; Tayloe changed the colt's name in honor of Randolph.

On the track

When Sir Archy was two, Tayloe and Randolph sold him to Ralph Wormely IV for $400 and an unknown

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...

. When Wormely later decided to quit horse racing Sir Archy was offered for sale, but there were no takers. Still owned by Wormely, Sir Archy made his first start in the Washington Jockey Club Sweepstakes late in his three-year-old season. At this point, he already stood high. Though Sir Archy had not yet recovered from a case of strangles, Wormely ran him rather than pay a forfeit fee. Still unwell, Sir Archy made his second start a month later at the Fairfield Sweepstakes in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. Though he won only the third heat and finished third overall to Col. William Ransom Johnson's colt True Blue, Johnson promptly bought Sir Archy for $1,500. Now in the hands of Johnson's trainer, Arthur Taylor, Sir Archy became one of the greatest runners of his day, excelling in four-mile heats. Johnson wrote, "I have only to say that, in my opinion, Sir Archy is the best horse I ever saw, and I well know that I never had any thing to do with one that was at all his equal; and this I will back; for, if any horse in the world, will run against him at any half way ground, four mile heats, according to the rules of racing, you may consider me $5000 with you on him. He was in good condition this fall, (1809) and has not run with any horse that could put him to half speed towards the end of the race." One of his most important matches was with Blank, in which Sir Archy won the first heat in 7:53 – the fastest time ever run to that point south of the James River. Following that race, he was purchased for $5,000 by General William Richardson Davie, the governor of North Carolina. Davie retired the horse to stud because there were no opponents willing to race against him. His record on the racetrack was 7 starts, with 4 wins and 1 second.

At stud

Sir Archy then became what most experts consider to be the first great Thoroughbred stallion bred in America. He went to stud, at first under Davie, then under Davie's son, who appears to have stood the stallion in Virginia for a couple of years. Then William Amis bought Sir Archy, and stood the horse for 25 or his 28 years at his plantation, Mowfield, near the

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the ...

in Northampton County, North Carolina. Even at the advanced age of 24, Sir Archy's stud fee was $100. Amis' son estimated that during the years he stood at Mowfield, Sir Archy earned $76,000 in stud fees. The stallion became known as the Godolphin Arabian of America, meaning that his influence on the American Thoroughbred was as important as the Godolphin Arabian's influence on European breeding. Like the "Blind Hero of Woodburn", Lexington — who was his great–grandson — Sir Archy became one of America's greatest foundation sires. Throughout the 1820s, the fastest horses in America were descendants of Sir Archy. In 1827, the Washington DC Jockey Club and the Maryland Jockey Club announced that only a limited number of horses were eligible to run in their races. Although the fine points of the announcement were complex, it effectively barred all horses sired by Sir Archy; his offspring were so successful that few, if any, horses not sired by Sir Archy bothered to race. Both Jockey Clubs admitted they were concerned about their long-term viability.

Sir Archy's progeny

Turf historian John Hervey wrote: "Before nor since, nothing has been known in America to equal the manner in which the Archys dominated both turf and stud for over half a century, beginning with the debut of his first crop of foals, in 1814 and culminating with the last of the sixteen seasons of premiership of his inbred great-grandson Lexington in 1878."

As sire

Siring at least 31 racing champions, and influencing the

American Quarter Horse The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of or less; some have been clocked at speeds up to ...

through his son Copperbottom, the following is a list of some of his most notable offspring: * Timoleon (foaled 1814; considered the best racehorse of his day, sire of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

) * Bertrand (foaled 1826; Some call him Sir Archy's best; became a national leading sire in his own right) * Sir Charles (foaled 1816; national leading sire in 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833 and 1836) * Sumpter (foaled 1818; won eight consecutive races when races were grueling heats. Became a broodmare sire of great note) * Stockholder (foaled 1819; most popular sire in Tennessee at the time. His daughters were extremely successful producers) * Lady Lightfoot (foaled 1812; records are incomplete but she may have won 30 – 40 races, racing through age 11. In her first try, she ran the fastest heats in Maryland up to that time. As a broodmare, she produced eight foals in nine years. One, Black Maria, was considered better than her dam) * Reality (foaled 1813; a filly rated at least as good as Sir Archy or Boston by William R. Johnson. He owned all three at various times) * Henry (foaled 1819; a very good racehorse, a popular sire, and the only horse to ever defeat American Eclipse) * Sally Hope (foaled 1822; won 22 of her 27 races, the last 18 in succession) * Flirtilla (foaled 1828; influential carrier of Sir Archy's blood)

As grandsire and beyond

Into the second generation, Sir Archy's influence became even more pronounced. This was partly because inbreeding to Sir Archy and to his sire, Diomed, became quite fashionable among American breeders. In Sir Archy's case, he was bred back to his daughters and his sire's daughters. This kind of inbreeding, ordinarily risky, was successful for the Sir Archy-Diomed line. * Bonnets o' Blue (by Sir Charles out of Reality; dam of

Fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

) *

, sired by Timoleon * Lexington, sired by Boston, who was sired by Timoleon

Retirement

At the age of 26 Sir Archy ended his stud career in 1831, living for two more years until his death in 1833 on June 7. Coincidentally, this was the same day that one of his greatest sons (Sir Charles) also died. Sir Archy was one of the first few horses inducted into the

in 1955. Sir Archy's burial location is disputed between two locations: *Claimed site one: Sir Archy is buried, along with his groom and canine companion, at Ben Lomond Farm in Goochland, Virginia where he was born. A historical marker, erected by the Goochland County (Virginia) Historical Society in 1972, marks his grave. The grave is surrounded by a stone wall and is now hidden by trees in the southeast corner of a field at the top of the farm acreage. * Claimed site two: Sir Archy is buried at the Mowfield Plantation in Northampton County North Carolina, just west of the town of Jackson. He resided there from 1818 until his death in 1833. His exact location of burial is unknown. The original plantation house still stands. However, when it was renovated, the property owners preferred to live in the house, and updated the interior for modern convenience.

Sire line tree

*Sir ArchyByerley Turk Line
/ref>
/ref>The Bloodlines Chart
/ref> **Cicero **Sir Arthur **Director ***Aratus ****John Henry **Grey Archy **Spring Hill **Tecumseh **Young Sir Archy **Columbus **Reap Hook **Warbler **Walk-In-The-Water ** Timoleon ***Washington ***Marquis ***Sir John Falstaff ***Hotspur ***Jackson ***

****Arlington ****Cost Johnson ****Ringgold *****Woodford *****Ringmaster *****Tipperary ****Commodore *****Gen Rosseau ****Red Eye ****Cracker *****Billy Cheatham *****Bruce ****Big Boston ****Jack Hawkins *****Odd Fellow ****Arrow ****Bob Johnson ****Wade Hampton **** Lecomte *****Sherrod *****Umpire **** Lexington *****Daniel Boone *****Goodwood *****Colton *****Lightning *****Optomist *****Uncle Vic *****Bulletin *****Jack Malone *****Lexington (Embry) *****Thunder *****Avalanche *****Censor *****Frank Boston *****Harper *****Jim Sherwood *****Lexington (Hunter) ***** War Dance *****Union Jack *****Copec *****Rogers *****

Asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

*****Beacon *****Chesapeake *****

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

*****Donerail *****

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

*****Loadstone *****

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

*****Ulverston *****Woodburn *****Ansel *****Bay Dick *****Gilroy *****Harry of the West *****Luther *****Veto *****Edinborough *****Jonesboro *****King Lear *****Lee Paul *****Lever *****Merrill *****Norway *****Red Dick *****Watson *****Baywood *****Concord *****King Tom *****Marion *****Bayonet *****Crossland ***** General Duke *****Hazard *****Paris *****Pat Malloy *****Vauxhall *****Barney Willams *****Chillecothe *****Foster ***** Kingfisher *****Pilgrim ***** Preakness *****Creole Dance ***** Harry Bassett *****Monarchist *****Pimlico *****Wanderer ***** Tom Bowling *****Acrobat *****Breathitt *****Jack Boston *****King Bolt ***** Tom Ochiltree *****Charley Howard *****Fiddlesticks ***** Shirley *****Brown Prince *****Frederick the Great ***** Duke of Magenta *****Uncas ****Piketon ****Zero *****Judge Leonard **Lawrence **Carolinian **Contention **Kosciusko ***Pulaski ***Clermont ****Minor ***Woodford ***Romulus ***Greybeard **Napoleon **Sir Solomon **Virginian ***Byron ***Mercury ***Sidi Hamet ****Berthune *****

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****Andrew Hamet **Rattler ***Marylander ** Sir Charles ***Collier ***Andrew ****Count Zaldivar ***Frank ****Jim Bell *** Wagner ****Oliver ****Voucher *****Whale *****Rupee *****Restless ****Monte ****Cary Bell ****Ashland ****Charley Ball ****Wagner Joe ****Jack Gamble *****Jack Gamble Jr ****Red Jacket ****Starke *****Wissehrad ****Endorser *****Excel ****Joe Stoner ****Neil Robinson ****Rynodyne *****Blarneystone **Sir William **Childers **Roanoke ***Grey Beard ****Santa Anna ***John Hancock **Muckle John **Sumpter ***Almanzor ***Brunswick **Henry ***Robin Hood ***Gerow **John Richards ***Corsica **Stockholder ***Pumpkin Boy ****Tempest *****Bob Perkins **Arab ***UnionShiloh Pedigree
/ref> ** Bertrand ***McDonough ***Richard Singleton ***Woodpecker **** Grey Eagle *****Bulwer ***Bertrand Jr ****Hero *****Jeff Davis ***John Bascombe ***Gauglion Gangle **Cherokee ***Whalebone ****Arnold Harris **Marion ***Cymon ***John Blount **Phoenomenon **Sir Richard **Sir William of Transport ***Sir Leslie ****Celestian ****Gazan *****Monarch ***Plato **Janus **Rinaldo **Robin Adair **Gohanna **Occupant ***Waxy **Pacific ***Chesterfield ***Epsilon ****Castor ****Bill Alexander ****Memnon **Saxe Weimer **Crusader **Pirate **Sir Archy Montorio ***Rodolph **Giles Scroggins **Industry ***Goldboy **Merlin **Red Gauntlet **Tariff **Hyazim **Wild Bill ***Gandor ** Copperbottom ***Rock ****Rocket *****Buck **Longwaist **Zinganee ***George Martin

Pedigree

* Sir Archy is

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders an ...

3S x 4D to the stallion Herod, meaning that he appears third generation on the sire side of his pedigree and fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.

References

External links

Sir Archy's pedigree and illustration
1805 racehorse births 1833 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Virginia Racehorses trained in the United States United States Champion Thoroughbred Sires United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Byerley Turk sire line Thoroughbred family 13