Carlisle Orientals
   

Charles Howard
3rd Earl of Carlisle





Castle Howard

 Acaster Turk [Carlisle's Turk, possibly Rutland Grey Turk, Rutland Coneyskins] gr c 1695c. Sire Line Acaster Turk.

Acaster Turk, sometimes called the Yorkshire Acaster Turk, and sometimes spelled Akaster Turk, was probably named after the area of Acaster located south of York, site of the villages of Acaster Malbis and Acaster Selby.

He came into the possession of Charles Howard (1669-1738), 3rd Earl of Carlisle, who bred the famous Carlisle Gelding [ex-Buckhunter] (ch g 1713 Bald Galloway) at his equally famous Castle Howard, near Malton, Yorkshire. The General Stud Book credits Lord Carlisle as the breeder of the Wharton Mare (dam of Buckhunter and Old Lady), although she may have been acquired from Thomas Wharton (1640-1715), 1st Marquis of Wharton, the owner of Old Careless (c 1693c Spanker), and notes that she was sired by Lord Carlisle's Turk [GSB1/5:18].

The pedigree of Roxana (ch f 1718 Bald Galloway) that is given in Edward Coke's stud book states that her dam was sired by Lord Carlisle's White Turk [Royal Studs:139]. Since Roxana's dam, sister to Chaunter, is elsewhere said to be sired by the Acaster Turk, it is presumed that the Carlisle White Turk and the Acaster Turk are the same horse.

The Acaster Turk was later acquired by Sir William Strickland (1665-1724), 3rd Baronet, who served in several parliaments in the reigns of King William III, Queen Anne and King George I. The family seat, originally at Strickland Hall, Westmoreland, was later removed to Boynton Hall, between Bridlington and Malton in Yorkshire. He was the breeder of Chaunter, Terror and Roxana. Acaster Turk was Champion Sire in 1721.

The Acaster Turk is thought to be a possible source of the cream dilute gene in the pedigrees of the palomino Silverlocks (p f 1725 Bald Galloway) and Thwaite's Dun Mare, taproot mare of Family 38. Silverlocks is called a chestnut in the General Stud Book, although she is decribed elsewhere as a "chestnut with a white mane". She had three offspring that the General Stud Book records as dun, including the dam of Brilliant (bu c 1750 Crab).

Highflyer suggests that the Acaster Turk is identical with the Duke of Rutland's Grey Turk and possibly the Duke of Rutland's Coneyskins.

Acaster Turk Mares
1. Sister to Chaunter, 2nd dam of the Champion Sire Cade (b c 1734 Godolphin Arabian) who numbered Matchem (b c 1748), also a Champion Sire and founder of the Matchem Sire Line, among his many offspring. Sister to Chaunter is usually said to be the 3rd dam of Silverlocks (p f 1725 Bald Galloway), however, there is some evidence that Roxana and Silverlocks were not sisters, although both have the Acaster Turk in their pedigrees.
2. Wharton mare, a foundation mare of Family 17, dam of the Carlisle Gelding [ex-Buckhunter] (ch g 1713 Bald Galloway), Buckhunter's full-sister Old Lady, Howard's Squirrel (ch c 1722 Strickland Turk)and Sister to Howard's Squirrel. Sister to Squirrel won a Royal Plate at Newmarket in 1728 [Baily 1:14]. Squirrel's Howard was Colonel Charles Howard (1696c-1765), the second son of the 3rd Earl of Carlisle.
3. Thwaite's Dun Mare, taproot of Family 38, described as an "excellent dun mare," was the dam of Nathaniel Beaver's Driver (ch c 1732 Lister's Snake), a winner of a number of Plates in 1738 and 1739. She was also the 5th dam of Pot8os (ch c 1773 Eclipse).
4. Acaster Turk Mare, a foundation mare of Family 70, was the dam of the full siblings Williams's Squirrel (b c 1719 Lister's Snake), Easby Snake (b c 1725c), Molly in the Moss (b f 1721) and Sister to Squirrel (ch f 1723). Squirrel and Easby Snake were both useful stallions, the latter getting Mother Western, the 2nd dam of Eclipse (ch c 1764 Marske). Molly in the Moss placed 2nd in the Royal Plate for mares at Hambleton in 1726, won by Bald Charlotte (ch f 1721 Old Royal). Sister to Squirrel ran 9th in the Royal Plate at Hambleton in 1728 [Orton:23] which was won by Mr Newstead's Miss Pert (b f 1723 Thoulouse Barb) and was later the dam of Cuthbert Routh's Simon (ch c 1733 Bartlet's Childers) who covered at Catterick.
5. Acaster Turk Mare, dam of Lord Portmore's Spectre (ro c 1733 Croft's Partner), winner of the Royal Plate at Nottingham in 1739.
6. The Bald Mare, owned by Edward Coke who purchased her from Mrs Ovington in 1727, failed to produce a foal by the Godolphin Arabian in either 1731 or 1732. Her pedigree is given as by the Bald Galloway - Carlisle's Turk - Darcy's White Turk, although she is otherwise unidentified. [Royal Studs:139]
 
 
Chaunter  (GB)
b c 1710 (Acaster Turk - Cream Cheeks, by Leedes Arabian). Sire Line Acaster Turk. Family 6-a. Chaunter was bred and raced by Sir William Strickland. In 1715 he won the £30 Ladies' Plate at York, beating Mr Pyke's Sloven, Mr Metcalfe's dun gelding, Mr Egerton's White Stockings (ch c 1710 Wood's Counsellor), Mr Honeywood's True Blue (gr c 1710 Honeywood's Arabian) and six others, although True Blue was said to be much out of condition. In 1716 he placed 2nd in the Royal Plate at York, won by Mr Honeywood's True Blue, beating Mr Egerton's White Stockings and four others. He may have been the same horse as Lord Drogheda's Chaunter who lost a match to the Duke of Devonshire's Childers (b c 1714 Darley Arabian) in October of 1722 at Newmarket, where Chaunter was said to be running as a twelve year old. The match was for 1000 guineas over six miles at equal weights. In April of 1723 he also lost 200 guineas to Lord Godolphin's Bobsey (c 1715 Bay Bolton) at Newmarket, giving him six pounds. He won several other Plates and Prizes and was considered to be in a very high form.
 
 
Terror (GB)
br c 1705c (Acaster Turk - Mare, by Hautboy). Sire Line Acaster Turk. Family 53. Bred by Sir William Strickland, he was half-brother to Aleppo (b c 1711 Darley Arabian), Almanzor (ch c 1713 Darley Arabian) and Graham's Champion (b c 1707 Harpham Arabian). He is unlikely to have been the same horse as the Duke of Bolton's Terror who ran against Mr Panton's famous Molly (ch f 1713 Thoulouse Barb) in 1723. In the stud he sired, among others, Hanniball (b c 1713) and Sister to Hanniball (b f 1716c) as well as the dam of the Derby Looby (b c 1720c Pigot Turk), and the 6th dam of Macklin's Fearnought (ch c 1777 Fearnought*).
 
 
Hanniball (GB)
b c 1713 (Terror - Mare, by Flatface). Sire Line Acaster Turk. Family 12-a. Hanniball was bred by Henry Curwen, who owned his damsire Flatface, and was later purchased by Cuthbert Routh. His turf career appears to have been unremarkable with a 7th placing, for Mr Curwen, in the Ladies' Plate at York in 1718 and a 3rd placing, for Mr Routh, in a Royal Plate at Newmarket in 1719. He doesn't appear to have left any offspring. According to Cuthbert Routh he died at Middleham in 1722 from "poyson & mismanagement" [Early Records:29].
 
Strickland's Turk
 
Strickland Turk
[Carlisle's Barb] bl c 1712c. Sire Line Strickland Turk. As in the case of the Acaster Turk [Carlisle's Turk], the Strickland Turk was owned by Lord Carlisle before becoming the property of Sir William Strickland. The Strickland Turk sired two foals from Lord Carlisle's Wharton Mare, Howard's Squirrel (b c 1723) and his sister. In these pedigrees the General Stud Book records the sire as Lord Carlisle's Barb, which it notes is referred to as "a foreign horse of Sir C W Strickland" in the racing calendar [GSB 1:18,391] and estimates his year of birth as 1712c. Under the name of Strickland's Turk he sired Batt from Strickland's Sister to Chaunter. The Turf Register records the Strickland Turk and the Acaster Turk as two separate horses [Pick 1:24], and since the Acaster Turk sired Buckhunter in 1713, and as in the three extant pedigrees which record the Strickland Turk he is mated with a daughter of the Acaster Turk, it is assumed that the Strickland Turk [Carlisle's Barb] and the Acaster Turk [Carlisle's Turk] are two different horses. Sister to Squirrel ch f 1722 (Strickland's Turk - Wharton Mare, by Acaster Turk), owned by Colonel Howard, won the Royal Plate for mares at Newmarket in April of 1728, defeating eleven others.
 
 
Batt (GB)
b c 1723 (Strickland's Turk - Sister to Chaunter, by Acaster Turk). Sire Line Strickland Turk. Family 6-a. Bred in Yorkshire by Sir William Strickland of Boynton he was later sold to Colyear & Henley and then to Mr Panton. In April of 1727 he won 200 guineas at Newmarket, beating the Duke of Bridgewater's Shapeless. He next won the King's Plate at Ipswich, defeating Lord W Manners's Smart, Mr Dashwood's Darcy, Mr Chandler's Partner, the Duke of Bolton's Fanny and six others. In 1729 he won the King's Plate at Guildford, beating the Duke of Ancaster's Silversides, Mr Howe's Pensioner, Lord Somerville's Darcy and Sir Robert Fagg's Archer. He followed this with a victory in the King's Plate at Salisbury, beating Mr Penruddock's Blue Cap, the Duke of Ancaster's Silversides and Mr Bott's Lady Thigh. Batt was later beset by a "misfortune" which ended his turf career. He left no significant offspring.
 
 
Squirrel (GB)
[Howard's] b c 1723 (Strickland's Turk - Wharton Mare, by Acaster Turk). Sire Line Strickland Turk. Family 17. Colonel Howard's Squirrel ran at Newmarket in October of 1728. The turf records of the period are extremely limited, however, it is possible that Colonel Howard's Squirrel became the property of Mr Panton, whose brown horse named Strickland, by the Strickland Turk, paid a forfeit to the Duke of Bolton's Fearnought (br c 1724 Bay Bolton) at Newmarket in March of 1731. Mr Harrison's Strickland ran at Newmarket in April of 1731. There is no evidence to connect these three horses.