Eclipse (1 April 1764 – 26 February 1789) was an undefeated 18th-century

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, 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 basic pr ...

who won 18 races, including 11 King's Plates. He raced before the introduction of the

British Classic Races The British Classics are five long-standing Group 1 horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. They are restricted to three-year-old horses and traditionally represent the pinnacle of achievement for racehorses against their own ...

, at a time when four-mile heat racing was the norm. He was considered the greatest racehorse of his time and the expression, "Eclipse first, the rest nowhere" entered the English vernacular as an expression of dominance. After retiring from racing, he became a very successful sire, whose offspring included three Epsom Derby winners:

Young Eclipse Young Eclipse (1778 – c. 1803) was a Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1781 Epsom Derby. He raced until he was six years old, winning seven races and retiring to stud in 1785. He was not a successful sire. Background Young Eclipse was ...

, Saltram and Serjeant. He was also a successful sire of sires, and his sire line has become dominant in the modern Thoroughbred worldwide through descendants such as

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

, Mr. Prospector and

Sunday Silence Sunday Silence (March 25, 1986 – August 19, 2002) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1989, he won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but failed to complete the Triple Crown when he was defeated in the Belmont ...

Breeding

Eclipse was foaled during and named after the

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

of 1764, at the

Cranbourne Lodge Cranbourne Lodge was a keeper's lodge for the royal hunting grounds of Cranbourne Chase, once adjoining but now part of Windsor Great Park in the English county of Berkshire. All that remains of it today is the Grade II* listed Cranbourne Tower ...

stud of his breeder,

Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (15 April 1721 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S..html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki> N.S.">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html"_;"title="/nowiki>Old_Style_and_New_St ...

.Thoroughbred Bloodlines: Eclipse
Retrieved on 2011-08-21 It was at this stud that his sire, the Jockey Club Plate winner Marske (by

Squirt Squirt or squirting can refer to the following: Animals * Sea squirt, a marine animal Arts and entertainment * ''Squirt'', a comic strip in the '' Funday Times'' * "Squirt" (Fluke song), a song by Fluke * ''Squirt'' (TV series), a New Zealand ...

from The Ruby Mare) stood. His dam,

Spilletta Spilletta (1749 – 1776) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She only raced once and is best known for being the dam of the undefeated Eclipse. Background Spilletta was a bay filly bred by the Sir Robert Eden and foaled in 1749. She ...

(foaled 1749), was by

Regulus Regulus is the brightest object in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation designated α Leonis, which is Latinized to Alpha Leonis, and abbreviated Alpha Leo or α Leo. Re ...

, who was by the

Godolphin Arabian The Godolphin Arabian (–1753), also known as the Godolphin Barb, was an Arabian horse who was one of three stallions that founded the modern Thoroughbred (the others were the Darley Arabian and the Byerley Turk). He was named after his best-kno ...

. Eclipse's male-line great-grandsire was Bartlett's Childers, and his male-line great-great-grandsire was

Darley Arabian The Darley Arabian (foaled c. 1700) was one of three dominant foundation sires of modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock. The other two founders were the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk. This bay Arabian horse was bought in Alep ...

. Eclipse was a brother to the successful broodmare Proserpine. They were inbred to Snake in the fourth generation of their pedigree. After the death of Prince William in 1765, Eclipse was sold for 75

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

to a sheep dealer from Smithfield, William Wildman. Eclipse was a bright chestnut with a narrow blaze running down his face. He had a white stocking on his right hind leg. Eclipse was a big horse for his time, just over , and was an inch higher at the rump than at the withers. He was strong, sound and fast. He was sometimes criticized for having a large, unattractive head. His difficult temperament was well documented, and might have led to him being gelded. Instead he was turned over to a rough-rider, who worked him hard all day, and at night as well on poaching expeditions if the stories are to be believed. This treatment, rather than souring his disposition, settled Eclipse enough to allow him to be raced, although his jockeys never attempted to hold him.

Racing career

Before Eclipse's first start at the age of five, a trial was arranged at

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

(although the location has also been given as Mickleham). Bookmakers, trying to verify whether rumours about the horse were true, showed up but were too late — the trial had already been run. On their way home, though, they encountered an old woman who told them she had seen a horse with a white leg being chased by another, who she did not think would catch the horse with the white leg, even if he pursued him to the end of the world. Accordingly, when Eclipse started in his first race on 1769, a £50 Plate for horses who had never won, he was 4/1 on favourite. The race consisted of three heats of four miles each. Eclipse won easily. After his second victory in a race in May 1769,

Dennis O'Kelly Dennis O'Kelly (1725–1787), born in Connacht, Ireland, was a prominent 18th-century owner and breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. He owned Eclipse, the pre-eminent sire of the breed and ancestor of 95% of modern thoroughbreds, and from ...

purchased Eclipse in two stages. in June 1769 for 650 guineas, 50 percent in April 1770 for 1,100 guineas).Montgomery, E.S, "The Thoroughbred", Arco, New York, 1973 Supposedly, at this time O'Kelly used the famous phrase "Eclipse first and the rest nowhere", before making his bets for this race, although some sources have him saying this for the second heat of the horse's debut. At that time, a horse that was more than 240 yards behind the lead was said to be ''nowhere''. His

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

was John Oakley, supposedly the only jockey who could handle Eclipse's temperamental manner and running style of holding his nose very close to the ground. Eclipse won the race and covered O'Kelly's bet. His toughest challenge was a match race versus the highly regarded

Bucephalus Bucephalus or Bucephalas (; grc, Βουκεφάλας, ; – June 326 BC) was the horse of Alexander the Great, and one of the most famous horses of classical antiquity. Ancient historical accounts state that Bucephalus' breed was tha ...

in April 1770. Bucephalus was game, but Eclipse was the easy winner. In August, he took on top class horses Tortoise and Bellario in the

Great Subscription Purse The Great Subscription Purses were a series of flat horse races in Great Britain run at York Racecourse, usually over a distance of 4 miles, that took place each year in August from 1751 to 1833. During the second half of the 18th century they we ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, but at odds of 20/1 on, routed both of them, being over a furlong in front after two miles, and winning in a canter. Eclipse won 18 races, including 11 King's Plates, supposedly without ever being fully extended and proving far superior to all competition. During his racing career, Eclipse ran over and walked 1,400 miles to race meetings across England. Eclipse is still remembered in the phrase "Eclipse first and the rest nowhere",

snowclone A snowclone is a cliché and phrasal template that can be used and recognized in multiple variants. The term was coined as a neologism in 2004, derived from Journalese, journalistic clichés that referred to the number of Inuit words for snow. H ...

d as " ame of competitorfirst and the rest nowhere", referring to any dominating victory. This phrase is occasionally seen in American print media (most often in newspaper sport sections) but is more common in Britain. He is attested to have covered 83 feet per second at top speed, and covered 25 feet in a single stride.

Race record

In ten of the King's Plates, Eclipse carried 12 st, or 168 pounds, the highest weight (by one pound) that was carried by a winner in England up to 1840.

Stud record

In 1771, Eclipse was retired to stud after a racing career of about 17 months due to lack of competition as nobody was betting on rival horses. Initially he stood at O'Kelly's Clay Hill Stud, near Epsom (Surrey), for a fee of 10 guineas which rose rapidly to 25 and then to 50 guineas a mare. During 1788, he was relocated to Cannons Stud, Edgware (Middlesex). Overall, Eclipse sired 344 winners of more than £158,000Barrie, Douglas M., The Australian Bloodhorse, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1956 (although the number varies with different reports, ranging from 325 to 400).

Notable progeny

''s =

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

, m =

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

'' Eclipse's daughters include Horatia, one of only twelve mares to produce two Derby winners:

Archduke Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. She also produced two-time Doncaster Cup winner Stamford. Other daughters of Eclipse produced Derby winners

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of the United Kingdom in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter- ...

and

Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

, and St. Leger winners Tartar,

Remembrancer The Remembrancer was originally a subordinate officer of the English Exchequer. The office is of great antiquity, the holder having been termed remembrancer, memorator, rememorator, registrar, keeper of the register, despatcher of business. The R ...

and Phoenomenon. Chanticleer, Haphazard, and Weasel are also noted as important runners out of Eclipse mares.Morris, Simon; ''Tesio Power 2000 – Stallions of the World'', Syntax Software Eclipse was never the

leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Frankel, who r ...

, although he finished in second place 11 times, usually behind Herod. A book published in 1970 stated that the

Royal Veterinary College , mottoeng = Confront disease at onset , established = (became a constituent part of University of London in 1949) , endowment = £10.5 million (2021) , budget = £106.0 million (20 ...

had determined that nearly 80% of Thoroughbred

racehorses Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, 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 basic pr ...

had Eclipse in their pedigree. That percentage has naturally increased with time and the inevitable inbreeding in the Thoroughbred population. More recently it has been estimated that Eclipse is not only ''somewhere'' in the pedigree, but a tail-male ancestor of "95pc of contemporary thoroughbreds" or of "nearly every living thoroughbred." This modern dominance comes mainly through a sire line established by

Potoooooooo Potoooooooo or variations of Pot-8-Os (1773 – November 1800) was an 18th-century thoroughbred racehorse who won over 30 races and defeated some of the greatest racehorses of his time. He went on to be an important sire, whose leading runners i ...

, although King Fergus would also found another successful branch leading to Ribot. Potoooooooo's grandson Waxy would lead the sire list in 1811, and Waxy's grandson Birdcatcher in turn led the sire list in 1852 and 1856. Birdcatcher's grandson

Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The na ...

outdid them both, becoming leading sire seven times. Stockwell's grandson

Bend Or Bend Or (1877–1903) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1880 Epsom Derby. His regular jockey Fred Archer, winner of thirteen consecutive British jockey titles, said Bend Or was probably the greatest horse he had ever ridden. No ...

founded a line that led four generations later to

Phalaris Phalaris ( el, Φάλαρις) was the tyrant of Akragas (now Agrigento) in Sicily, from approximately 570 to 554 BC. History Phalaris was renowned for his excessive cruelty. Among his alleged atrocities is cannibalism: he was said to have e ...

The Phalaris line has several branches, notably through

Nearco Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by ''Thoroughbred Heritage'' as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He ...

and

Native Dancer Native Dancer (March 27, 1950 – November 16, 1967), nicknamed the ''Gray Ghost'', was one of the most celebrated and accomplished Thoroughbred racehorses in American history and was the first horse made famous through the medium of television. ...

. In Great Britain and Ireland, the Eclipse sire line includes modern leading sires such as

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

, Danehill and

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

. In North America, leading sires in his line include

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 11, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 American Horse of the Year, Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign t ...

(sire of

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

), Mr. Prospector (ancestor of

American Pharoah American Pharoah (foaled February 2, 2012) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2015. He was the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, and in winning all four races, became the first ho ...

), Danzig,

Storm Cat Storm Cat (February 27, 1983 – April 24, 2013) was an American Thoroughbred stallion whose breeding fee during the peak of his stud career was $500,000, the highest in North America at the time. He was the leading sire in North America in 1999 ...

, A.P. Indy,

Giant's Causeway The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (5 km) northeast of ...

and

Tapit Tapit (foaled February 27, 2001, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won three of his six races, including the Wood Memorial Stakes, then a Graded stakes race, Grade I event. He was an immediate success after retiring to stud, ...

. In Japan, Eclipse's sire line includes leading sires

, King Kamehameha and Deep Impact, while in Australia leading sires from his line include

Redoute's Choice Redoute's Choice (15 August 1996 – 26 March 2019) was a multiple Group One-winning Australian Thoroughbred racehorse and also a champion sire. He is by the phenomenal international sire Danehill (USA) out of the lightly raced mare Shantha' ...

Encosta De Lago Encosta De Lago (27 October 1993 – 6 October 2018) was an Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse that won three group races from eight starts including the Group One (G1), Vic Health Cup against older horses. He was the Leading sire in Austra ...

and

Fastnet Rock Fastnet Lighthouse is a 54m high lighthouse situated on the remote Fastnet Rock in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the most southerly point of Ireland and lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland. The current l ...

Death

Eclipse died due to an attack of

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube ( small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out ...

on 1789, at the age . His skeleton is now housed at the

, Hertfordshire, in the Learning Resource Centre named after him, although it cannot be said for certain whether all the bones displayed are really from Eclipse. His

hooves The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the rumi ...

were made into

inkstand An inkstand is a stand or tray used to house writing instruments, with a tightly-capped inkwell and a sand shaker for rapid drying. A penwiper would often be included, and from the mid-nineteenth century, a compartment for steel nibs, which replace ...

s, although the fact that there are at least five Eclipse-hoof inkstands casts some doubt on the authenticity of some. Hairs from his tail have also been used for decorations. A

necropsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

on Eclipse found that he had an abnormally large heart, weighing . This trait has been referred to in the context of thoroughbreds as the "

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

" Theory. While the theory has yet to be proven, it has gained popularity due to the large hearts seen occasionally in his descendants, including

and

Phar Lap Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a champion New Zealand–bred Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as New Zealand's greatest racehorse ever. Achieving incredible success during his distinguished career, his initial ...

Honours and analysis

The

Eclipse Awards The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

are American Thoroughbred horse-racing awards named after Eclipse. They honour the champions of the sport, and are sponsored by the

National Thoroughbred Racing Association The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) is a broad-based coalition of American horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with incr ...

(NTRA), ''

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of race ...

'' and the

National Turf Writers Association The National Turf Writers Association (NTWA) is an American association of journalists, columnists and other writers involved with reporting on the horse racing industry. The organization was founded by prominent sports writer Joe Hirsch who served ...

, who select all finalists at the end of the year. The most prestigious of these Awards is the

Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

title. The

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

is a

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

flat race in the United Kingdom for three-year-olds and older run over a distance of 1¼ miles and 7 yards (2,018 metres) at

Sandown Park Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse rac ...

. Eclipse Press is the book-publishing division of

Blood-Horse Publications Blood-Horse Publications is an American multimedia publishing house focused on horse-related magazines headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. It began in 1916 through its flagship magazine, ''The Blood-Horse''. From 1961 to 2015, Blood-Horse Publica ...

, an international publishing house for top Thoroughbred and general equine magazines, books, videos, CD-ROMs and annual references. Sheffield-based ''Eclipse'' tools, now part of Spear & Jackson, took their name and their ''Eclipse first...'' slogan in 1909 from the horse. The life story of Eclipse inspired the novel ''O'Kelly's Eclipse'' by screenwriter

Arthur Weiss Arthur Weiss (13 June 1912 – 26 August 1980) was an American script writer for two decades on action/adventure TV shows like '' Mission: Impossible'', ''Mannix'', '' The Fugitive'', ''Super Friends'', ''The Time Tunnel'' and ''Sea Hunt''. His ...

. Nicholas Clee's ''Eclipse: The Story of the Rogue, the Madam and the Horse That Changed Racing'' is a biography of Eclipse and of the people connected to him, among them the gambler Dennis O'Kelly and the brothel madam

Charlotte Hayes Charlotte Hayes (c. 1725–1813) was a highly successful brothel keeper in early Georgian London, and the owner of some of the city's most luxurious brothels in and around King's Place, in St James's. Biography Although the precise detail ...

. Other biographies of Eclipse include Michael Church's ''Eclipse: The Horse, The Race, The Awards'' (2000), and Theodore Cook's 1907 book ''Eclipse and O'Kelly''. Contrary to popular belief, the

Mitsubishi Eclipse The Mitsubishi Eclipse is a sport compact car that was produced by Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsubishi in four generations from 1989 until 2011. A convertible body style was added during the 1996 model year. The first two generations share the autom ...

was named for the racehorse, and not for the natural phenomenon.

Pedigree

At the time of Eclipse's birth, stud records were maintained by the individual breeder with no central authority. Record-keeping was somewhat haphazard, compounded by spelling and transcription errors, and the fact that the names of mares were often not recorded. In 1791, James Weatherby and William Sydney Towers pieced together the

General Stud Book The ''General Stud Book'' is a breed registry for horses in Great Britain and Ireland. More specifically it is used to document the breeding of Thoroughbreds and related foundation bloodstock such as the Arabian horse. Today it is published e ...

, which is the source of the pedigree shown below. However, there are still several debated entries of interest to pedigree experts. Details of the issues can be found in Appendix 2 of Nicholas Clee's book on Eclipse. The most notable issues are summarized below. According to all official records, Eclipse's sire was Marske (written as 'Mask' in a 1764 entry in the Royal Stud Book). Marske was a moderately successful racehorse who had little early success in the breeding shed. His stud fee at the time of Eclipse's conception was only half a guinea, though it subsequently grew to 30 guineas. During Eclipse's lifetime, however, it was rumoured that his real sire was Shakespeare, who was a somewhat better racehorse than Marske and was said to resemble Eclipse more closely. According to a contemporary source, Eclipse's dam was covered in 1763 first by Shakespeare and later by Marske, and paternity was based on Eclipse's foaling date corresponding to the date of the second breeding session. Since both Marske and Shakespeare were great-grandsons of the Darley Arabian, Eclipse would still descend from that stallion. Eclipse's dam was Spilletta, who is shown as a bay in the General Stud Book but recorded as a chestnut in the personal records of her second owner, the Duke of Ancaster. There is again confusion over her breeding: The General Stud Book shows her sire as the undefeated Regulus (by the Godolphin Arabian) but a 1754 racing calendar shows her sire as Sedbury (by the Byerley Turk). Spilletta's dam was Mother Western, whose paternity is subject to similar confusion between Scarborough Colt and Easby Snake. Spilletta raced only once, finishing last in a field of three. In her first eight years as a broodmare, Spilletta produced only one live foal. In 1760, she was bred to Markse for the first time with no issue. Three years later, they were mated again: Eclipse was the result. ''Note: b. = Bay, ch. =

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

, br. =

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

'' * Eclipse was

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 and o ...

4 × 4 to Snake. This means that the stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

29^ *

Bibliography

External links

Science News – Why Was The Racehorse Eclipse So Good?

BBC: DNA study of 'greatest racehorse'

BBC: 'Averageness' key to great racehorses

{{Authority control 1764 racehorse births 1789 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Great Britain Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain Undefeated racehorses Thoroughbred family 12