Janus (horse)
{{Short description|18th-century British Thoroughbred racehorse}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox racehorse
| horsename = Janus
| image =
| caption =
| sire = Janus I ("Old Janus")
| grandsire = Godolphin Arabian
| dam = Fox Mare
| damsire = Fox
| sex = Stallion
| foaled = 1746
| country = {{Plainlist|
| colour =
| breeder = Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin
| owner = {{Plainlist|
- Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin
- Anthony Langley Swymmer
- George Grisewood
- Mordecai Booth
- Mildred Willis
- Jeptha Atherton}}
| record =
| earnings =
| race =
| awards =
| honours =
| updated= 27 August 2023
}}
Janus (1746–1780),{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yt9IAAAAYAAJ&dq=janus+horse&pg=PA805|title=The printer stock of horses|publisher=Wallace's Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine Devoted to Domesticated, Volume 3|editor=Wallace, John Hankins|year=1877}} also known as Little Janus, Young Janus, and Janus II, was an English Thoroughbred stallion imported to Colonial America, which would later become the United States.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GcSmMI1ttIoC&dq=janus+horse&pg=PA10|title=Quarter Horses: A Story of Two Centuries|author=Denhardt, Robert Moorman|year=1967|isbn=9780806122854}} Noted for his quickness and compact conformation, he has subsequently been acknowledged as a foundation sire of the American Quarter Horse.{{cite web|url=https://www.aqha.com/history-of-the-quarter-horse?inheritRedirect=true|title=American Quarter Horse Museum}}
Background
Bred by Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin, Janus was foaled in England in 1746. He was a grandson of the Godolphin Arabian, and like his grandsire, was chestnut in color.{{cite web|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/horse-racing|title=Jeptha Atherton, Horse breeder|website=www.ncpedia.org}} Subsequently, owned by Anthony Langley Swymmer, a founding member of the Jockey Club and an English MP.{{cite web|url= https://www.tbheritage.com/HistoricSires/FoundationSires/FoundSiresJ.html|title=Historic Sires|website=Thoroughbred Heritage}} He raced under various names including Little Janus and Stiff Dick. His English racing career took place between 1750 and 1752. Janus won twice at 4 miles and was retired due to injury. Janus was sold to George Grisewood, a horse breeder and turf enthusiast.{{cite web|url= https://www.tbheritage.com/HistoricSires/FoundationSires/FoundSiresJ.html|title=Historic Sires|website=Thoroughbred Heritage}}
Life in America
After becoming lame, Janus was imported to Virginia Colony by Mordecai Booth in 1752,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCMCAAAAYAAJ&q=janus+imported&pg=PA1062|title=The General Stud Book Containing Pedigrees of English Race Horses – Volumes 1–2|year=1834}} and resold to Mildred Willis.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1RVDAAAAYAAJ&q=janus+horse+jeptha|title=The Roanoke Stud, 1795-1883|author=Harrison, Fairfax|publisher=Priv. print., Old Dominion Press|year=1930}}
Janus was able to fully recover and went on to race again.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uQZSAQAAIAAJ&q=janus+horse|title=The Horse in Virginia: An Illustrated History|author=Campbell, Julie A.|publisher=University of Virginia Press|year=2010|isbn=9780813928166}} He won races in Virginia and North Carolina.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3kvAQAAMAAJ&q=janus+horse|title=Meet the horse|author=Johnson, Patricia|publisher=Grosset & Dunlap|year=1967}} Janus was compact, standing just over {{hands|14}}, yet large boned with powerful hindquarters.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L1OzdhTAN64C&q=janus+purchased+by+atherton&pg=PA22|title=Foundation Dams of the American Quarter Horse |author=Robert Moorman Denhardt|year=1982|isbn=9780806127484 }}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=suw2DwAAQBAJ&q=janus+helped+him+run+fast&pg=PA9|title=American Quarterhorses|author=Parise-Peterson, Amanda|year=2018|page=9|isbn=9781543500387}}, {{isbn|978-1-5435-0032-5}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KX5blnPYe74C&dq=janus+horse&pg=PA79|title=The American Paint Horse|year=1976|author=Haynes, Glynn W.|isbn=9780806121444}}
In late 1771 or early 1772 he was sold to Jeptha Atherton and was moved to North Carolina.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0nQvAQAAMAAJ&q=Atherton|title=The Colonial Quarter Race Horse: America's first breed of horses. America's native breed of running horses, the world's oldest breed of race horses, prime source of short speed|author=Alexander Mackay-Smith|year=1983}}{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1999/01/03/when-african-americans-ruled-the-sport-of-kings/72549e6a-9d8e-45cb-845b-7edd3af3ed81/|title=Colonial Horse racing|newspaper=Washington Post|year=1999}} In 1773 he was at stud at what would later become Northampton Courthouse, in Jackson, North Carolina.{{cite news|url=http://www.newspapers.com/clip/32117279/j-atherton-horse-old-janus-north/|title=Atherton, Jeptha – Old Janus|work=The Virginia Gazette|date=18 March 1773}}{{cite news|work=The Virginia Gazette|url=http://www.newspapers.com/clip/459508/atherton-jeptha-horse-janus/|title=Atherton Jeptha Atherton, Old Janus|date=25 March 1775}}
Janus died in 1780, aged 34. His offspring included Celer, foaled in 1774, and Spadille.{{cite book|title=Quarterhorses, the Story of Two Centuries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GcSmMI1ttIoC&q=janus+horse+born&pg=PA17|year=1991|author=Denhardt, Robert Moorman|isbn = 9780806122854}}
Manly Wade Wellman wrote a fictionalized account of the life of Janus.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oESdpwAACAAJ&q=janus+horse|title=Brave Horse: The Story of Janus|year=1968|author=Wellman, Manly Wade|isbn=9780910412810}}
Sire line tree
{{tree list}}
- Janus[http://www.tbheritage.com/HistoricSires/FoundationSires/FoundSiresJ.html#LittleJanus Foundation Sire: Little Janus][https://www.aqha.com/-/the-bloodlines-chart The Bloodlines Chart]
- Peacock
- Wilkins Spadille (out of Selima)
- Babram
- Buie
- Meades Celer
- Turpins Fleetwood
- Printer
- Twigg
{{tree list/end}}