| Derbies | Oaks | St. Legers | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Simon (E) | 2 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| Sir Peter (H), 1784 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Stockwell (E), 1849 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| Highflyer (H), 1774 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Melbourne (M), 1834 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| Waxy (E), 1790 | 4 | 3 | – | 7 |
| Touchstone (E), 1831 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Isonomy (E), 1875 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Pot-8-os (E), 1773 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Sorcerer (M), 1796 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Birdcatcher (E), 1836 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| King Tom (E), 1851 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Lord Clifden (E), 1860 | – | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Eclipse, 1764 | 3 | 1 | – | 4 |
| Herod, 1758 | – | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Florizel (H) | 2 | – | 2 | 4 |
| Whalebone (E), 1807 | 3 | 1 | – | 4 |
| Adventurer (E), 1869 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Buccaneer (H), 1859 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Emilius (E), 1820 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Hermit (E), 1864 | 2 | 2 | – | 4 |
| Hampton (E), 1872 | 3 | 1 | – | 4 |
| Scud (E), 1804 | 2 | 1 | – | 3 |
| Bay Middleton (H), 1833 | 2 | – | 1 | 3 |
| Justice (H), 1774 | 2 | 1 | – | 3 |
| Tramp (E), 1810 | 2 | – | 1 | 3 |
| Phantom (H), 1808 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Orville (E), 1799 | 2 | – | 1 | 3 |
| Newminster (E), 1848 | 2 | 1 | – | 3 |
| Whiskey (E), 1789 | 1 | 2 | – | 3 |
| Selim (H), 1802 | 1 | 2 | – | 3 |
| Velocipede (E), 1825 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Muley (E), 1810 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Sultan (H), 1816 | 1 | 2 | – | 3 |
| Volunteer (E), 1780 | 1 | 2 | – | 3 |
| Blair Athol (E), 1861 | 1 | – | 2 | 3 |
| Voltaire (E), 1826 | 1 | – | 2 | 3 |
| Sweetmeat (H), 1842 | 1 | 2 | – | 3 |
| Barcaldine (M), 1878 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Woful (E), 1809 | – | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| King Fergus (E), 1775 | – | – | 3 | 3 |
| Priam (E), 1827 | – | 3 | – | 3 |
| Beninghough (E), 1791 | – | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Petrarch (E), 1873 | – | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Macaroni (H), 1860 | – | 3 | – | 3 |
| Gallinule (E), 1884 | – | 1 | 2 | 3 |
The above table shows a list of the horses that have sired three or more classic winners, i.e., Derby, Oaks, and St. Leger. The letters E, H, and M after a horse’s name denotes whether it is of (E) Eclipse, (H) Herod, or (M) Matchem descent in the male line.
This list, which covers a period from the birth of Herod to the present day, contains forty-six names, of which thirty-one are male descendants of Eclipse, and only twelve of Herod.
The following horses have headed the list of winning stallions since 1850:—
Epirus (H), Orlando (E), Birdcatcher (E), Melbourne (M), Touchstone (E), Newminster (E), Stockwell (E), Buccaneer (H), Thormanby (H), King Tom (E), Blair Athol (E), Adventurer (E), Lord Clifden (E), Speculum (E), Flageolet (E), Hermit (E), Hampton (E), Galopin (E), St. Simon (E), Kendal (E), Orme (E), Persimmon (E), St. Frusquin (E), Gallinule (E).
From this it will be gathered that Herod horses have headed the list in three years, Matchem one year, while Eclipse horses monopolise all the other years.
So we now have the following facts, that although Eclipse horses have won the Derby, Leger, and Oaks nearly twice as often as Herod horses, and have sired the dams of the winners of these races in about the same proportion, and have further headed the list of winning sires almost without break for the last fifty years, yet in the pedigree of every one of these Eclipse horses mentioned above the name of Herod occurs oftener than that of Eclipse.
Now, surely it is very significant that although all our thoroughbred horses of the present day possess more crosses of Herod blood than Eclipse blood, yet the Herod male line is being slowly and surely pushed out by the Eclipse male line. One might almost regard it as a logical consequence that the extra crosses of Herod should give the Herod male line an increased strength and prepotency, but, as a fact, we find the exact opposite to this is the case.
A few illustrations taken from contemporaneous sires will best explain the force of this. For instance, let us take Whalebone and Phantom, winners of the Derby in consecutive years, 1807 and 1808. Whalebone, a direct descendant of Eclipse in tail male, contained one cross only of Eclipse and two crosses of Herod. Phantom, a descendant of Herod in the male line, contained four crosses of Herod and two of Eclipse. Phantom to-day has very few tail male representatives at the stud, while Whalebone is represented by the whole of the Newminster and Stockwell line, backed up by the Isonomy line in later days. A comparison between Birdcatcher and his nearest Herod contemporary, Bay Middleton, works out with much the same result. Birdcatcher’s pedigree contains four crosses of Eclipse and nine crosses of Herod; Bay Middleton six of Eclipse and thirteen of Herod. Yet we have to go to France to find any prominent representatives of the Bay Middleton male line; while two Birdcatcher horses (Isinglass and Gallinule) are top of the list of winning sires to-day.
All these facts would seem to go to prove that in spite of the preponderance of Herod blood in our horses, in spite of the occasional prominence of individual members of the Herod male line, there is some natural force which is always working to place the Eclipse male line on top. It is quite evident that the male line of Eclipse cannot be “swamped,” and that the blood gets stronger and stronger the older it grows.