O'Kelly's WONDER

See Also: HORSERACING Racehorses; PROSTITUTION The Eighteenth Century

Dennis O'Kelly was born in Ireland. As a youth, he settled in London, where he found work as a sedan chair carrier. He appears to have had an early experience of the city's gaming houses. He may have been furnished with the financial means to do so by a woman of rank. However, he proved to be unable to sustain his luck.

O'Kelly ran up debts. As a result, he was incarcerated in the Fleet Prison. There, he became the lover of Charlotte Hayes, a brothel-keeper. Following the death of King George II there was an amnesty. As a result, O'Kelly and Hayes were both released. She re-opened her Cloister in King's Place, St James's. With the profits that the enterprise generated, she backed O'Kelly s attempt to become part of the racing world. He proved to be able to establish himself within it. He generated the financial wherewithal to purchase a house at Clay Hill in Epsom and to set up a horseracing stud in the property's grounds.

The Duke of Cumberland, the younger son of the late monarch, built up a stud at Cranbourne Lodge in Windsor Great Park. The chestnut-coloured foal Eclipse was born there in 1764. His sire, Marske, was not a horse of the first rank. The prince-duke died the following year. His stable was then dispersed. Eclipse had turned out to be a highly-strung creature. William Wildman, a grazier and meat salesman in Leadenhall Market, paid 75 guineas for the stallion. In 1769 Wildman sold a half-share of him to O'Kelly for 650 guineas. At the time, the horse was unproven.

Eclipse was able to win his races by a far wider margin than any other horse could. When the Queen's Plate was contested at Winchester, O'Kelly laid an extremely large wager that he would be able to guess the correct order in which the five competing horses would finish. The bet he made was Eclipse first and the rest nowhere. When the chestnut crossed the finishing line the next nearest horse was over 240 yards behind him. Therefore, it and the other three runners were automatically termed to be unplaced. Thereby, the Irishman won his bet. Subsequently, he was to pay Wildman 1100 guineas to become the steed's sole owner.

O'Kelly took exceptional care of Eclipse. In 1770 he retired the horse. The stallion had won all of the eighteen races that he had been entered into. His winnings totalled 2149 guineas. Had O'Kelly wanted to maximise his earnings from the horse it would have been a simple matter for him to have had the steed lose a race. However, he chose never to use that option.

The Irishman was the subject of social prejudice. He was never granted membership of The Jockey Club. Eclipse generated only about 25,000 in stud fees. The Club's aristocratic members preferred to have their mares serviced by Herod, who belonged to Sir John Moore, or by Herod's son Highflyer, who was owned by the horse auctioneer Richard Tattersall. O'Kelly was able to pay the body back in a coin similar to its own. Unusually for the time, he provided his jockeys with an annual retainer. However, if they did not ride any horses that were owned by members of the Club then the amount that they received was doubled.

In 1787 O'Kelly bought the Canons estate in Middlesex. The property had been the country retreat of the extremely wealthy 1^st Duke of Chandos. Eclipse was transported to the property in what is believed to have been the first instance of a horse box being used.

O'Kelly and Hayes's relationship, despite its unconventional beginning, had proven to be durable. The couple had not had any children. His heir was his nephew Andrew O'Kelly, whom he had ensured had been raised to be a gentleman. Dennis O'Kelly expired in 1787. His nephew was admitted to membership of the Jockey Club shortly afterwards.

Eclipse died in 1789. His offspring proved the quality of his legacy. Over 95% of thoroughbreds are descended from him in the male line. Many of the other 5% have him as an ancestor through the female one.

Location: Old Seacoal Lane, c.EC4M 7LD (orange, red)

46 Half Moon Street, W1J 7BH (purple, yellow)

Canons, Edgware, HA8 6QH

David Backhouse 2024