Dam The Rugby or Ruby Mare Foaled 1750 Colour Brown Species Equus caballus Children Eclipse Sex Stallion | Damsire Blacklegs Country Great Britain Breeder John Hutton Grandsire Bartlett's Childers Parents Squirt | |
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Owners Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon | ||
Marske (1750-July 1779) was a Thoroughbred racehorse, best known as siring the great Eclipse.
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Racing career
Bred by John Hutton at Marske Hall, Yorkshire, he was traded to the Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (also the breeder and owner of Herod) as a foal for a chestnut Arabian.
In 1754, he won the Jockey Club Plate on Newmarket's Round Course against Pytho and Brilliant, and a 300 guineas match against Ginger. The following year, he came third in a race at Newmarket, and did not run again until 1756, when he lost twice again, this time in two 1,000 guineas matches against Snap (by Snip). He was then retired to stud.
Breeding career
Marske stood at the Duke's Cumberland stud until his owner died in 1765. Being a rather average horse up to that point, he was then sold at Tattersall's to a Dorset farmer for a 'trifling sum'. At the farm, he covered mares for half a guinea. The farmer then sold him for only 20 guineas to William Wildman. He covered mares at Bistern(e), Hampshire for 3gs and 5s in 1767, 5gs and 5s in 1769 and 10gs and 5s in 1770, before his fee was raised to 30gs and 5s. However, it wasn't until his greatest son, Eclipse showed talent on the track that Marske became extremely popular. He was then sold for a large profit of 1,000 guineas to the Earl of Abingdon, who raised his stud fee to 100 guineas (equivalent to £12,400 in 2015). During his 22 years at the Earl's stud in Rycot, Oxfordshire, Marske sired across the next generation 154 winners. Top offspring include:
From these 22 years were sired 154 winners, of some £71,205 10s (equivalent to £8,300,000 in 2015) excluding non-monetary prizes and races won by unknown offspring, comparable to the wealth of an average feudal successor peer. The peak years of his produce were 1775, when wins occurred in 24 races (for winners he had sired) who earned £18,500 15s in prize money, and the next year saw 23 such wins and £19,235 13s to the various foals' owners.
He died in July 1779 and was commemorated with the following poem: