Line Breeding: Royal Mare 14.1% D5:2, D6:3, S6, D7, S7
Hautboy 10.9% D4, D5, D6
Leeds Arabian 10.9% D4, D5, S6
Janus was foaled in England in 1746. It is commonly said that he was the recorded starting line of the both the American Thoroughbred and American Quarter horse. His sire was the result of crossing one of the best English mares around to a imported Pure Arabian Stallion. His Arabian Grand sire was The Godolphin Arabian who resembled that of a good barb rather than of a pure Arabian. Janus had proven himself as a successful four miler in England but was forced to retire as a racehorse because of a damaged sinew. Apparently after his arrival to the American Continent he manged a few more races , winning at distances up to four miles. These races weren't for the faint hearted as they were dodging rocks,stumps, holes, in fact every imaginable natural obstacle there was.
As a Sire he was generally considered a failure because the majority of his offspring were unable to go the full distance of 4 miles which was the distance the horse racing "noblemen" preferred. Though it is worth noting that his Thoroughbred family line traces to Broomstick who, for a while, was the only filly to win the Kentucky Derby and Exterminator, who won 50 of his 100 starts and only missed a place 16 times. It is generally thought that his failure was a result of not being bred to the right type of mare.
The colonies were full of another type of mare and an already established breed, referred to as the CAQRH or FAQRH (celebrated American Quarter Running Horse, or Famous American Quarter Running Horse). This breed were already noted for their agility and powerful hindquarters which was the main reason for their tremendous burst of speed. Making them the fastest horses in the world over the quarter mile. These horses were being caught wild and were known as the Chickasaw Horse. It was soon discovered that breeding these mares to Janus produced horses with extra refinement that the genes already possessed through common heritage, The Barb.
As is the norm in English colonies it soon became less and less popular to appear "English" so the Quarter Mile Racing became
incredibly popular and with that, so did Janus. He became known as the sire of horses with explosive speed and became a legend in his own lifetime with at least 100 sons on written record. He was so popular his daughters were being bred to him and his granddaughters, with some horses having up to six crosses going back to Janus. He was also noted for his beauty and confirmation being considered as the most perfectly formed horse in Virginia.
Like the Quarter Horse breed in general, being a “hot blood” he was able to pass this onto his progeny and even onto third and fourth generations. In 1780 Janus died at the grand old age of 31. But his legacy lives on. Celer was regarded as Janus's best son who in turn sired Randolph's Celer who sired Speckleback the dam of Blackburn's whip. Blackburn's Whip was the foundation sire of the Steeldust and Tiger lines. If you take a close look at the bloodlines of the top ten Leading sires of cutting horses in Australia you will notice they ALL trace back to Janus.
It's true to say, in those days a horse was a work horse first and a race horse on the week ends, and that the breed would have come about without him and in fact all credit can't be given to him as being THE founding sire of the quarter horse. Because if you take a closer look at the Top Ten Bloodlines you will also notice that they ALL trace back to a horse named Sir Archy. read on
| OLD JANUS | GODOLPHIN ARABIAN GODOLPHIN |
|||
| AMORETT | BARTLETS CHILDERS | DARLEY ARABIAN* | ||
| BETTY LEEDES | OLD CARELESS | |||
| CREAM CHEEKS | ||||
| FLYING WHIGG | WILLIAMS WOODSTOCK ARABIAN | |||
| POINTS | ST VICTORS BARB | |||
| GREY WHYNOT | ||||
| FOX MARE | FOX | CLUMSEY | HAUTBOY | DARCYS WHITE TURK |
| ROYAL MARE | ||||
| MISS DARCYS PET MARE | ||||
| SEDBURY ROYAL MARE | ||||
| BAY PEG | LEEDES ARABIAN | |||
| YOUNG BALD PEG | LEEDES ARABIAN | |||
| OLD MOROCCO MARE | ||||
| BALD GALLOWAY MARE | BALD GALLOWAY | ST VICTORS BARB | ||
| GREY WHYNOT | WHYNOT | |||
| ROYAL MARE | ||||
| SNAKE MARE | SNAKE | LISTER TURK | ||
| HAUTBOY MARE 2 | ||||
| HAUTBOY MARE | HAUTBOY | |||
| BRIMMER MARE 2 |
