Marske (1750 – July 1779) was a Thoroughbred racehorse, best known as siring the great Eclipse.
| Horsename: | Marske |
| Sire: | Squirt |
| Grandsire: | Bartlett's Childers |
| Dam: | The Rugby or Ruby Mare |
| Damsire: | Blacklegs |
| Sex: | Stallion |
| Foaled: | 1750 |
| Country: | Great Britain |
| Colour: | Brown |
| Breeder: | John Hutton |
| Owner: | Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, William Wildman, Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon |
| Record: | 5: 2-0-1 |
| Race: | Jockey Club Plate (1754) |
| Awards: | Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland (1775, 1776) |
| Updated: | August 25, 2007 |
Bred by John Hutton at Marske Hall (Marske, Richmondshire), 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-guinea 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-guinea matches against Snap (by Snip). He was then retired to stud.
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| Date | Race name | Dist (miles) | Course | Prize | Runners | Pos | Opponents | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed race | not known | 40 gs | walkover | 1 | Mr Cornwall's Grey Colt | |||
| 3m 5f | 100 gs and up | 5 | 1 | Pythos; Brilliant; Ginger; Bear | ||||
| 4m 1.5f | 300 gs | 2 | 1 | Ginger | ||||
| Unnamed race | not known | not known | 3 | 3 | Brilliant; Syphon | |||
| not known | 1,000 gs | 2 | 2 | Snap | ||||
| not known | 1,000 gs | 2 | 2 | Snap | ||||
| not known | not known | 2 | forfeited | Spectator |
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 Bisterne, 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 Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon, who raised his stud fee to 100 guineas . During his 22 years at the Earl's stud in Rycote, 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 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: