further engagements. But he raced only once. At Lincoln on 3 September, he walked over for his tenth Kingâs Plate. Then he returned to Newmarket, where on 3 October he met another of Sir Charles Bunburyâs horses, Corsican, in competition for a 150-guinea plate. In the view of the betting market, there was no competition: Eclipse was 1-70.You might have offered those odds about his getting from one end of the Beacon Course to another. He managed it, as did Corsican â only somewhat more slowly. On 4 October, Eclipse yet again scared off the opposition for a Kingâs Plate, and walked over the Newmarket Round Course.
He was due to meet Jenison Shaftoâs unbeaten Goldfinder(son of Shaftoâs Snap, who had twice defeated Eclipseâs sire Marske), prompting jokes from OâKelly about how the rival connections would be âgold losersâ. But Goldfinder broke down at exercise, and the match did not take place. 74
That was the anti-climactic end of Eclipseâs career as a racer. He had won eighteen races, including eleven Kingâs Plates. His prize money totalled £2, 863.50 â the equivalent of about £304, 000 today. It is a relatively modest sum: for winning the 2008 Epsom Derby, New Approach won for his owner, Princess Haya of Jordan, more than £800, 000.
However, Eclipseâs money-making days were far from over. He had defeated all the best horses of his day. âHe was never beaten, never had a whip flourished over him, or felt the tickling of a spur, or was ever, for a moment, distressed by the speed of a competitor; out-footing, out-striding, and out-lasting, every horse which started against him, â the equestrian writer John Lawrence said. John Orton, in his Turf Annals , wrote, âThe performances of Eclipse ⦠have always been considered to exhibit a degree of superiority unparalleled by any horse ever known. âThe racing historian James Rice put it more fancifully: Eclipse ânever failed in a single instance to give them all their gruel , and the need of a spyglass to see which way he went, and how far he was offâ. Eclipse was without dispute â except possibly by Sir Charles Bunbury â the champion of his era. Horsemen agreed that he was âthe fleetest horse that ever ran in England, since the time of [Flying] Childersâ.
It was time to set about transmitting that ability to future generations.
65 Horses are rarely asked to carry more than ten stone in modern British Flat races. In the championship National Hunt races at the Cheltenham Festival, the horses carry 11st 10lb.
66 The rules of the race put Eclipse at an apparent disadvantage. The contest was for six-year-olds; younger horses did not get the weight concessions available in other types of contest. Eclipse, who was five, carried the same weight â twelve stone â as his older rivals.
67 The title is Eclipse with Jockey up Walking the Course for the Kingâs Plate . The identification of Eclipse as a five-year-old is the clue pointing towards one of his two 1769 walkovers.
68 He was still, officially, a five-year-old. Racehorses in this era celebrated their birthdays on 1 May. Now, they all become a year older on 1 January.
69 By Regulus, out of Mother Western â but see Appendix 2.
70 Horses are described as related if they have ancestors in common on their damsâ sides. Horses are half brothers or sisters if they have the same mother; but they are not described as such if they have the same sire, perhaps because sires are so prolific.
71 For a fuller discussion of Stubbsâs painting, see chapter 18. Stubbs later identified the jockey as Samuel Merriott. Perhaps John Oakley, if Eclipseâs ownership had already changed, was no longer involved. One report describes Oakley as Eclipseâs âconstant groomâ; another asserts that he was a jockey riding for various owners. It is hard to know what to conclude. See Appendix
He was due to meet Jenison Shaftoâs unbeaten Goldfinder(son of Shaftoâs Snap, who had twice defeated Eclipseâs sire Marske), prompting jokes from OâKelly about how the rival connections would be âgold losersâ. But Goldfinder broke down at exercise, and the match did not take place. 74
That was the anti-climactic end of Eclipseâs career as a racer. He had won eighteen races, including eleven Kingâs Plates. His prize money totalled £2, 863.50 â the equivalent of about £304, 000 today. It is a relatively modest sum: for winning the 2008 Epsom Derby, New Approach won for his owner, Princess Haya of Jordan, more than £800, 000.
However, Eclipseâs money-making days were far from over. He had defeated all the best horses of his day. âHe was never beaten, never had a whip flourished over him, or felt the tickling of a spur, or was ever, for a moment, distressed by the speed of a competitor; out-footing, out-striding, and out-lasting, every horse which started against him, â the equestrian writer John Lawrence said. John Orton, in his Turf Annals , wrote, âThe performances of Eclipse ⦠have always been considered to exhibit a degree of superiority unparalleled by any horse ever known. âThe racing historian James Rice put it more fancifully: Eclipse ânever failed in a single instance to give them all their gruel , and the need of a spyglass to see which way he went, and how far he was offâ. Eclipse was without dispute â except possibly by Sir Charles Bunbury â the champion of his era. Horsemen agreed that he was âthe fleetest horse that ever ran in England, since the time of [Flying] Childersâ.
It was time to set about transmitting that ability to future generations.
65 Horses are rarely asked to carry more than ten stone in modern British Flat races. In the championship National Hunt races at the Cheltenham Festival, the horses carry 11st 10lb.
66 The rules of the race put Eclipse at an apparent disadvantage. The contest was for six-year-olds; younger horses did not get the weight concessions available in other types of contest. Eclipse, who was five, carried the same weight â twelve stone â as his older rivals.
67 The title is Eclipse with Jockey up Walking the Course for the Kingâs Plate . The identification of Eclipse as a five-year-old is the clue pointing towards one of his two 1769 walkovers.
68 He was still, officially, a five-year-old. Racehorses in this era celebrated their birthdays on 1 May. Now, they all become a year older on 1 January.
69 By Regulus, out of Mother Western â but see Appendix 2.
70 Horses are described as related if they have ancestors in common on their damsâ sides. Horses are half brothers or sisters if they have the same mother; but they are not described as such if they have the same sire, perhaps because sires are so prolific.
71 For a fuller discussion of Stubbsâs painting, see chapter 18. Stubbs later identified the jockey as Samuel Merriott. Perhaps John Oakley, if Eclipseâs ownership had already changed, was no longer involved. One report describes Oakley as Eclipseâs âconstant groomâ; another asserts that he was a jockey riding for various owners. It is hard to know what to conclude. See Appendix
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