THE THOROUGHBRED HORSE. II 



because, the sires being admittedly Eastern, it becomes 

 imperative to trace, if possible, the blood of their mates. If 

 a potent average of the dams at the roots is found not to be 

 Eastern, then it becomes obvious that any restrictive claim 

 for purely Arab descent has no authentic basis in fact." 



We may find much proof of what is advanced by Mr. 

 Osborne by referring to the pedigree of the famous Eclipse. 

 Marske was the sire of Eclipse, and in Marske's pedigree we 

 find that Snake was by the Lister Turk, out of a mare by 

 Hautboy ; but the name of the mare which threw Snake's 

 dam to Hautboy is not to be found. This is of itself pre- 

 sumptive, though not conclusive, evidence that the mare was 

 English bred. Had she been an Eastern matron her identity 

 would certainly have been established. Then, again, Grey 

 Wilkes was by Hautboy, out of Miss D'Arcy's Pet Mare ; 

 but who was the sire of this Pet Mare cannot be ascertained. 

 The inference is that the sire was an English horse ; and 

 this is all the more probable because Lord D'Arcy, as 

 already pointed out, was one of the foremost breeders of the 

 day ; and as he mentions all his Eastern horses, he would 

 certainly have kept record of this mare had he known her 

 lineage. Of Coneyskins we have no knowledge beyond the 

 fact that he was a son of the Lister Turk ; his dam was 

 probably an English mare ; while we may search in vain for 

 the breeding of the Old Clubfoot mare, except that she was 

 by Hautboy ; and yet she was the property of Mr. Crofts, 

 who bred largely, as the term was understood in those days. 

 Not to labour the matter out to an undue length, it may be 

 shortly stated that there are flaws in the pedigree of Bay 

 Bolton's sire ; and it is curious to note that the identity of 

 so many mares which were sent to Hautboy has been lost. 

 Grey Hautboy, sire of Bay Bolton, was by Hautboy. 



In the pedigree of Spiletta, the dam of Eclipse, we find 

 sundry other blanks which cannot be filled in ; and in each 

 case the probability is that English blood should claim the 

 honour of a place. Mr. Osborne says : " The thirteen un- 



