Young Eclipse

Young Eclipse (1778 – c. 1803) was a Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1781 Epsom Derby. He raced until he was six years old, winning seven races and retiring to stud in 1785. He was not a successful sire. Background Young Eclipse was foaled in 1778 and was bred by Dennis O'Kelly, who owned his sire Eclipse and stood him at his Clay Hill Stud farm near Epsom for a 50-guinea per mare stud fee. O'Kelly was an Irish immigrant who had made his fortune through professional gambling, Eclipse's stud fees and the profits of a brothel run by his lover Charlotte Hayes. Eclipse was undefeated during his racing career, winning 18 races, and is the foundation sire from which most modern Thoroughbreds descend. Young Eclipse's dam, Juno (foaled in 1764), was bred by the Duke of Ancaster and produced nine foals between 1772 and her death in 1793. Young Eclipse was her sixth and most notable foal. Young Eclipse was considered "fleeter" than his sire at distances less than three miles and reportedly was ill-tempered and "what the jockeys call rusty." Racing career