Spilletta (1749 – 1776) was a

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 ...

racehorse. She only raced once and is best known for being the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

of the undefeated Eclipse.

Background

Spilletta was a bay filly bred by the Sir Robert Eden and foaled in 1749. She was sired by the undefeated

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. Reg ...

. Regulus was also a very successful stallion, becoming Champion sire eight times. Regulus also sired Careless and Cato. Spilletta's dam was Mother Western, a daughter of Smith's son of Snake.

Racing career

Spilletta only started one race, in April 1754 at Newmarket for a £50 Plate. She lost the race to Sir Charles Sedley's Royal, the Marquess of Hartington's Tantivy and Mr. Curzon's Jason.

Stud career

Spilletta was a broodmare at the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom ...

stud. She produced five foals: * Ariaden – a bay filly foaled in 1759 and sire by Crab. * Eclipse – a chestnut stallion foaled in 1764 and sired by Marske. He was undefeated during his 18 race career and is generally considered one of the best horses ever. His wins included 11 King's Plates, the Great Subscription Purse and a match against

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 ...

. He sired

Planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

Pot-8-Os 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 Stud (animal), sire, whose le ...

, King Fergus, Mercury,

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, Serjeant and

Annette Annette may refer to: Film and television * '' Walt Disney Presents: Annette'', 1950s television series * ''Annette'' (film), a 2021 musical film Other * Annette (given name), list of people with the name * Annette Island, Alaska * Tropical Stor ...

. Eclipse is the sire-line ancestor of most Thoroughbreds alive today. * Proserpine – a bay mare foaled in 1766 and sired by Marske. She never raced, but was the dam of Humbug and six others. * Garrick – first called Hyperion, a chestnut stallion foaled in 1772 and sired by Marske. He won a 140 guineas race at Newmarket in 1777. As a stallion he stood at Newmarket and near Malton in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. * Briseis – a chestnut filly foaled in 1774 and sired by Chrysolite. Spilletta died in 1776.

Pedigree

''Note: b. = Bay, 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 us ...

'' * Spilletta 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 ...

3x4 to Snake. This means that the stallion appears one in the third generation and once in the fourth generation of her pedigree.

References

{{reflist 1749 racehorse births 1776 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain Racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Great Britain Thoroughbred family 12