DAVENPORTS AND THE DARLEY AWARDS:
THE ENDURING INFLUENCE OF A STORIED IMPORTATION By Tobi Lopez Taylor tobi.lopez.taylor@gmail.com Of the 18 nominees for the 2021 Darley Awards, all but one have something in common: they descend from a group of horses brought to the U.S. more than a century ago by political cartoonist and Arabian horse breeder Homer Davenport, one of the founders of the Arabian Horse Club of America (now known as the Arabian Horse Association). Davenport, born in Oregon in 1867, was a lifelong horse fancier who finally came face to face with Arabians at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. He recalled being transfixed by their “big sparkling eyes and gracefully carried tails.” In 1906, with the diplomatic aid of President Theodore Roosevelt, Davenport realized his dream of owning Arabians. He traveled to what was then the Ottoman Empire and purchased twenty-seven head, a journey he chronicled in his book, My Quest of the Arabian Horse. His breeding stock has had a profound impact on Arabian horses in the U.S.—even though Davenport died at age 45, a mere six years after his landmark importation. Fortunately, his breeding program was continued by his friend Peter Bradley, who had financed Davenport’s trip. A number of early-twentieth-century breeders, such as F. E. Lewis and W. K. Kellogg, acquired Davenport horses for use in their own programs. In fact, according to Robert Cadranell, between 1925 and 1945, the Kellogg Ranch “owned, bred, or acted as agents in the sale of no fewer than 45 horses” of 100 percent Davenport bloodlines. Today, the Davenport Arabian Horse Conservancy continues to promote public awareness of these horses and their importer.
Three well-known Davenport stallions appear in the pedigrees of many of this year’s Darley nominees. The desert-bred stallion *Muson was ridden by Buffalo Bill in his Wild West Show. Jadaan became famous as Rudolph Valentino’s mount in the 1926 film The Son of the Sheik. And Hanad (*Deyr x Sankirah) was the star of the Kellogg Sunday Shows, performing feats like standing on a pedestal, doing the Spanish Walk, and even jumping rope. The first stallion of all-Davenport bloodlines to make a mark on Arabian horse racing (in both the United States and Poland) was Antez (Harara x Moliah). Bred by F. E. Lewis, Antez was later owned by Kellogg, who used him for breeding and also as a riding horse. In 1930, Kellogg sold Antez to breeder General J. M. Dickinson. Dickinson had become interested in the Polish State Studs’ use of racing as a method of evaluating breeding stock. After purchasing Antez, he ran the 12-year-old stallion in a series of time trials. Despite his inexperience as a racehorse, Antez equaled the Arabian world record for the half-mile. In 1934, Dickinson sold Antez to the Arab Horse Breeders Society of Poland. While in that country, Antez sired 11 registered foals (two of them were exported to the U.S). Of the nine that remained in Poland, a filly named Ukrainka was a race winner, a colt named Haschim Bey won the 1940 wartime Polish Derby, and an unraced filly named Oda III produced Verona, winner of the 1946 Polish Oaks. Antez’s son *Latif, imported from Poland in utero, is in the pedigrees of many stakes winners, including Ben Hib Ku, U.S. National Champion Racehorse, and Tiki Tessar, a Racing Hall of Fame inductee.
26 • Darley Awards Stallion Guide * Arabian Finish Line/Horsereporter • 2022
