Eclipse (GB)
1855 – 1878
Orlando (GB) x Gaze (GB), by Bay Middleton (GB)
Family 1-s
1855 – 1878
Orlando (GB) x Gaze (GB), by Bay Middleton (GB)
Family 1-s
Often known as “Morris’s Eclipse” to distinguish him from the famous 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire of that name, this beautifully-bred horse was speedy but nowhere near the champion that the original Eclipse had been. He proved a sire of significant worth after his importation to the United States. While best known in his own lifetime as the sire of the “Barbarous Battalion,” a group of five stakes-winning full sisters (including three that were generally acknowledged as champions), he is better remembered as the sire of Alarm, a notable speed influence and, through his son Himyar, the ancestor of the American male lines of Domino and Plaudit. Both of these sire lines have persisted into the 21st century. Eclipse’s daughters also wielded influence on American breeding.
Race record
10 starts, 5 wins, 0 seconds, 1 third
1857:
1858:
As an individual
A handsome, muscular bay horse standing 16 hands at full maturity, Eclipse had a good shoulder, a well-rounded barrel, excellent hips, and powerful hindquarters. He was faulted in his day for being light on bone below the knee and narrower than was desirable across the loins. He was also said to have had a bad enough temper that in his later years, his grooms supposedly pushed his oats and hay into his box from a distance. Even so, he is said to have killed two or three handlers.
As a stallion
According to the Thoroughbred Heritage website, Eclipse was twice second and twice third among leading sires in the United States. He was known for siring speed and precocity, and he was a better sire of fillies than colts.
Notable progeny
Alarm (USA), Lady Blessington (USA), Merciless (USA), Regardless (USA), Remorseless (USA), Ruthless (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Faithless (USA), Lady Rosebery (USA), Spinaway (USA)
Connections
Foaled at Hampton Court Stud, Eclipse was bred by Charles Fulke Greville and was purchased as a yearling by Henry Padwick. He was trained by John Day. Following an unplaced run in the St. Leger Stakes, Eclipse was purchased by Richard Ten Broeck with an eye to the Cambridgeshire Stakes, in which Eclipse was unplaced. In July 1859, Ten Broeck shipped Eclipse (along with the mare Barbarity and some other stock) to Canada and thence to New York and the Westchester County farm of his partner, Francis Morris. A quarrel between the partners ended in a lawsuit, and Eclipse and Barbarity became Morris’s property as a result. The stallion stood at the Fashion Racecourse on Long Island, New York, in 1860 and stood at Major Barak G. Thomas’s Dixiana Stud in Kentucky in 1861 and 1862. Eclipse was apparently in New York in 1863 and in New Jersey in 1864 and 1865. In 1866, he returned to Morris’s New York farm, where he stood for the rest of his life.
Pedigree notes
Sired by 1844 Derby Stakes winner Orlando, Eclipse is inbred 5x4x4 to 1814 English champion sire Selim and 5x5x5x5 to two-time English champion sire Walton, both fine racehorses. He was produced from Gaze, whose sire Bay Middleton won the 1836 Two Thousand Guineas and Derby Stakes and was undefeated on the track. Bay Middleton was equally successful as a sire, leading the English general sire list twice.
Gaze never raced, but she is a full sister to Gaper, winner of the 1842 Criterion Stakes at Newmarket. Their dam, Flycatcher (by 1822 Craven Stakes winner Godolphin), is a half sister to 1835 Two Thousand Guineas winner Ibrahim (by Sultan) and to 1844 Oaks Stakes winner The Princess (by Slane).
Flycatcher and her siblings were produced from an unnamed daughter of 1811 Derby Stakes winner and two-time English champion sire Phantom commonly known as “Sister to Cobweb,” produced from the important Soothsayer mare Filagree and so a full sister to 1824 One Thousand Guineas and Oaks Stakes winner Cobweb. Unbeaten in four races, Cobweb became the dam of Bay Middleton on a cover by Selim’s great sire son Sultan. A great broodmare, she also produced 1837 Two Thousand Guineas winner Achmet (by Sultan), 1847 One Thousand Guineas winner Clementina (by Venison), and Riddlesworth Stakes winners Lucius (by Emilius), Phoenix (by Buzzard), and Caesar (by Sultan). She also produced Young Emilius (by Emilius), a sire of some importance in France.
Books and media
A full, detailed profile of Eclipse written by Patricia Erigero can be found at Thoroughbred Heritage (https://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/EclipseImp.html).
Fun facts
Last updated: August 2, 2025
Race record
10 starts, 5 wins, 0 seconds, 1 third
1857:
- Won Clearwell Stakes (ENG, Newmarket)
1858:
- Won Hampton Court Sales Stakes (ENG, 10FT, Newmarket)
- Won Newmarket Stakes (ENG, 10FT, Newmarket; dead heat with Beadsman)
- Won Biennial Stakes (ENG, Ascot)
- 3rd Stockbridge Derby (ENG, Stockbridge)
As an individual
A handsome, muscular bay horse standing 16 hands at full maturity, Eclipse had a good shoulder, a well-rounded barrel, excellent hips, and powerful hindquarters. He was faulted in his day for being light on bone below the knee and narrower than was desirable across the loins. He was also said to have had a bad enough temper that in his later years, his grooms supposedly pushed his oats and hay into his box from a distance. Even so, he is said to have killed two or three handlers.
As a stallion
According to the Thoroughbred Heritage website, Eclipse was twice second and twice third among leading sires in the United States. He was known for siring speed and precocity, and he was a better sire of fillies than colts.
Notable progeny
Alarm (USA), Lady Blessington (USA), Merciless (USA), Regardless (USA), Remorseless (USA), Ruthless (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Faithless (USA), Lady Rosebery (USA), Spinaway (USA)
Connections
Foaled at Hampton Court Stud, Eclipse was bred by Charles Fulke Greville and was purchased as a yearling by Henry Padwick. He was trained by John Day. Following an unplaced run in the St. Leger Stakes, Eclipse was purchased by Richard Ten Broeck with an eye to the Cambridgeshire Stakes, in which Eclipse was unplaced. In July 1859, Ten Broeck shipped Eclipse (along with the mare Barbarity and some other stock) to Canada and thence to New York and the Westchester County farm of his partner, Francis Morris. A quarrel between the partners ended in a lawsuit, and Eclipse and Barbarity became Morris’s property as a result. The stallion stood at the Fashion Racecourse on Long Island, New York, in 1860 and stood at Major Barak G. Thomas’s Dixiana Stud in Kentucky in 1861 and 1862. Eclipse was apparently in New York in 1863 and in New Jersey in 1864 and 1865. In 1866, he returned to Morris’s New York farm, where he stood for the rest of his life.
Pedigree notes
Sired by 1844 Derby Stakes winner Orlando, Eclipse is inbred 5x4x4 to 1814 English champion sire Selim and 5x5x5x5 to two-time English champion sire Walton, both fine racehorses. He was produced from Gaze, whose sire Bay Middleton won the 1836 Two Thousand Guineas and Derby Stakes and was undefeated on the track. Bay Middleton was equally successful as a sire, leading the English general sire list twice.
Gaze never raced, but she is a full sister to Gaper, winner of the 1842 Criterion Stakes at Newmarket. Their dam, Flycatcher (by 1822 Craven Stakes winner Godolphin), is a half sister to 1835 Two Thousand Guineas winner Ibrahim (by Sultan) and to 1844 Oaks Stakes winner The Princess (by Slane).
Flycatcher and her siblings were produced from an unnamed daughter of 1811 Derby Stakes winner and two-time English champion sire Phantom commonly known as “Sister to Cobweb,” produced from the important Soothsayer mare Filagree and so a full sister to 1824 One Thousand Guineas and Oaks Stakes winner Cobweb. Unbeaten in four races, Cobweb became the dam of Bay Middleton on a cover by Selim’s great sire son Sultan. A great broodmare, she also produced 1837 Two Thousand Guineas winner Achmet (by Sultan), 1847 One Thousand Guineas winner Clementina (by Venison), and Riddlesworth Stakes winners Lucius (by Emilius), Phoenix (by Buzzard), and Caesar (by Sultan). She also produced Young Emilius (by Emilius), a sire of some importance in France.
Books and media
A full, detailed profile of Eclipse written by Patricia Erigero can be found at Thoroughbred Heritage (https://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/EclipseImp.html).
Fun facts
- After Francis Morris’s son John Morris built Morris Park in New York, the track’s “Eclipse Course” was named in honor of Francis Morris’s famous stallion.
Last updated: August 2, 2025