BARRY O'HALLORANreviews Eclipseby Nicholas Clee Bantam Press, 344pp, £25
AMBITIOUS AS he was, it’s unlikely that even Denis O’Kelly would have guessed he was on the road to founding a dynasty when he left Tullow, Co Carlow, for London as a teenager in the 1730s.
A dynasty of sorts, that is, because O’Kelly left no direct descendants when he died aged 62 in 1787. By then he had acquired celebrity status as “Count O’Kelly” owner of Eclipse, the greatest racehorse of his day, and the sire of many subsequent champions.
Eclipse’s DNA can be found in 95 per cent of all thoroughbred racehorses. Since his son – with the obvious tag of Son of Eclipse – won the second running of the Epsom Derby in 1781, virtually every winner of the race can trace its ancestry back to him, including this year’s, the Irish-trained and bred Sea the Stars. Similarly, he can be found in the pedigrees of the likes of multiple champion hurdler, Istabraq, steeplechaser Arkle, and leading stallion Sadler’s Wells. He is, literally, the daddy of them all.
O’Kelly was an unlikely racehorse owner. Back then, grandees such as Lord Derby and Sir Charles Bunbury dominated the sport.
Author Nicholas Clee says they were happy to associate with O’Kelly and his ilk when it suited them, but did not want him in their inner circle. They barred him from the elite Jockey Club, racing’s governing body, a slight for which he never forgave them.
By the time that he came to buy Eclipse for £1,000 in 1770, O’Kelly was well known as a bookie, professional punter, and general rogue. His life and business partner was Charlotte Hayes, madam of London’s most notorious brothel, whom he met in the debtors’ prison.
A craze for gambling and stock market speculation was sweeping Britain at the time and O’Kelly was quick to spot the opportunities. With the help of Hayes’s cash and a distinct lack of scruples, he began making money as a bookie and a shark. But he was more than just a sharp operator, he knew a good horse when he saw one, and when he saw Eclipse being exercised on the Epsom Downs in early 1769, he knew he’d seen the best. He set about buying him from his owner, the wealthy merchant William Wilder.
The Irishman was not just interested in Eclipse as a racehorse. He realised that once he proved himself a champion, Eclipse would be worth a fortune at stud. After two undefeated seasons, he retired him to stud at Epsom, where he fathered over 900 offspring.
The mating fees and the sale of Eclipse’s progeny earned O’Kelly his fortune and he built an estate around the great sire at Epsom.
Clee points out that O’Kelly’s approach anticipated modern commercial bloodstock breeding, and argues that his foresight in seeing the horse’s long-term value made a lasting contribution to both racing and breeding.
The author’s enthusiasm for the sport and interest in racehorse pedigrees punctuate the book, and it contains plenty of detail for anyone interested in either or both. However, Clee has written more than just a single chapter in the history of one sport. Instead, he has made the horse the cornerstone of a story that features a range of characters, many of whom, such as Eclipse’s breeder, the Duke of Cumberland, who defeated Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden in 1745, are remembered for their wider exploits.
The book is more a snapshot of the era, one which was just as obsessed with wealth, status and speculation as our own.
Barry O'Halloran is an Irish Timesbusiness journalist and an avid racing fan