40 The English Hoi'se. 



Eastern and common blood, but without any direct 

 Arabian strain. 



Now it must be mentioned how the Godolphin was 

 first brought forward. The Bald Galloway, the sire of 

 the dam of Regulus, was also the sire of Roxana. 

 Hobgoblin, son of Aleppo, son of Flying Childers, was 

 to have been her mate ; but he refusing to cover her 

 she was handed over to the Godolphin, who was used 

 as a teaser. This was in 1731. The produce was Lath, 

 1732. Seven years later Regulus was born to the Go- 

 dolphin, and his daughter Spiletta was covered by both 

 Marske (grandson of Bartlet's Childers) and by Shake- 

 spear (son of Hobgoblin), this latter horse being a 

 grandson of Flying Childers ; hence the doubt as to 

 which was the sire of Eclipse. Shakespear was a 

 cliestnut horse, foaled in 1745 ; his dam, the Little 

 Hartley mare, was by Bartlet's Childers from Flying 

 Whig, by Williams's Woodstock Arabian. 



But to return to Eclipse, so named from the great 

 eclipse of the sun in 1764, the year of his birth. No 

 horse that he met was able to extend him. He is said 

 to have run the course at York in eight minutes. This 

 was the only race in which it is supposed he was 

 timed. The only contemporary who was thought to 

 have any pretensions to rival Eclipse was Goldfinder, 

 foaled the same year (1764). He has been described 

 as a beautiful and long-reached brown horse, and, like 

 Eclipse, was never beaten. Accident prevented the 

 two meeting, which is to be regretted. Goldfinder was 

 by Snap, grandson of Flying Childers. Though he, too. 



