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An Eclipse Changed Horse Breeding, Allegedly

Alright, I'm now quite literally beating a dead horse with "allegedly" chapters. Well anyways Eclipse (1 April 1764 – 26 February 1789) was an undefeated 18th-century British Thoroughbred racehorse who won 18 races, including 11 King's Plates. After retiring from racing he became a very successful sire and today appears in the pedigree of most modern Thoroughbreds. Thoroughbreds are known for their speed but they have smaller hearts meaning more health problems. However after Eclipse died, they found his heart was doubled that of a regular horse. This trait was passed on down through generations of his family tree, passed down by him.

Eclipse was born during and named after the solar eclipse of 1 April 1764, at the Cranbourne Lodge stud of his breeder, Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. Eclipse was a brother to the successful broodmare Proserpine. They were inbred to Snake in the fourth generation (4m x 4f) of their pedigree. After the death of Prince William in 1765, Eclipse was sold for 75 guineas to a sheep dealer from Smithfield, William Wildman.

Eclipse was a big horse for his time, just over 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm), and was an inch higher at the rump than at the withers. He was strong, sound and fast. He was sometimes criticized for having a large, unattractive head. His difficult temperament was well documented, and might have led to him being castrated. Instead he was turned over to a rough-rider, who worked him hard all day, and at night as well on poaching expeditions. This treatment, rather than souring his disposition, settled Eclipse enough to allow him to be raced, although his jockeys never attempted to hold him.

This trait has been referred for thoroughbreds as the "X-Factor" Theory. A theory is believed that mares with larger hearts frequently have more successful horses than any other mares. The theory is yet to be proven, however Eclipse's grandchild include Secretariat and Phar Lap. in 1973, Secretariat became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. Phar Lap was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the Australian public's imagination during the early years of the Great Depression.