70 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES. 



Wildman, a sheep salesman, for seventy -five guineas. Colonel O'Kelly pur- 

 chased a share of him from Wildman. In the spring of the following year, 

 when the reputation of this wonderful animal was at its height, O'Kelly wished 

 to become sole owner of him, and hought the remaining share for eleven hun- 

 dred guineas. 



Eclipse was what was termed a thick- winded horse, and puffed and roared 

 so as to be heard at a considerable distance. For this or some other cause, he 

 was not brought on the turf until he was five years old. 



O'Kelly, aware of his horse's powers, had backed him freely on his first race, 

 in May 1769. This excited curiosity, or, perhaps, roused suspicion, and some 

 persons attempted to watch one of his trials. Mr. John Lawrence says, that 

 " they were a little too late ; but they found an old woman who gave them all 

 the information they wanted. On inquiring whether she had seen a race, she 

 replied she could not tell whether it was a race or not, but that she had just 

 seen a horse with a white leg running away at a monstrous rate, and another 

 horse a great way behind, trying to run after him ; but she was .sure he never 

 would catch the white-legged horse if he ran to the world's end." 



The first heat was easily won, when O'Kelly, observing that the rider had 

 been pulling at Eclipse during the whole of the race, offered a wager that he 

 placed the horses in the next heat. This seemed a thing so highly improbable, 

 that he immediately had bets to a large amount. Being called on to declare, he 

 replied, u Eclipse first, and the rest nowhere ! " The event justified his predic- 

 tion, for all the others were distanced by Eclipse with the greatest ease, and thus, 

 in the language of the turf, they had no place. 



In the spring of the following year, he beat Mr. Wentworth's Bucephalus, 

 who had never before met with his equal. Two days afterwards he distanced 

 Mr. Strode's Pensioner, a very good horse ; and in the August of the same year, 

 he won the great subscription at York. No horse daring to enter against him, 

 he closed his short career, of seventeen months, by walking over the Newmarket 

 course for the king's plate, on October the 18th, 1770. He was never beaten, 

 nor ever paid forfeit, and won for his owner more than twenty-five thousand 

 pounds. 



Eclipse was afterwards employed as a stallion, and produced the extraordi- 

 nary number of three hundred and thirty- four winners, and these netted to their 

 owners more than 160,000/. exclusive of plates and cups*. 



The profit brought to the owner of this extraordinary animal by his services 

 as a stallion must have been immense. It is said that ten years after he was 

 withdrawn from the turf, O'Kelly was asked at what price he would sell him. 

 At first he peremptorily refused to sell him. at any price ; but after some reflec- 

 tion, he said that he would take 25,000/., with an annuity of 500/. a year on his 

 own life, and the annual privilege of sending six mares to him. The seeming 

 extravagance of the sum excited considerable remark ; but O'Kelly declared that 

 he had already cleared more than 25,000/. by him, and that he was young enough 

 still to earn double that sum. In fact he did live nearly ten years afterwards, 

 covering at 50 guineas a mare, for some part of the time ; but his feet having 

 been strangely and cruelly neglected, he became foundered. His feet now 



for one hundred guineas. Squirt, when the a water-cart in Paris. Smith's Breeding 



property of Sir Harry Harpur, was ordered for the Turf, p. 5. 



to be shot ; and while he was actually lead- * The produce of King Herod, a de- 

 ing to the dog-kennel, he was spared at the scendant of Flying Childers, was even more 

 intercession of one of Sir Harry's grooms. numerous. He got no less than four hun- 

 Neither Bartlett's Childers, nor Snake, was dred and ninety-seven winners, who gained 

 ever trained. On the side of the dam, Spiletta for their proprietors upwards of two hundred 

 never started but once, and was beaten; and thousand pounds. Highflyer was a son of 

 tt Godolphin Arabian was purchased from King Herod. 



