The first recorded racing on Claverton Down was in 1729, but the racing there was at its zenith between 1771 and 1781 when the town was visited by the extraordinary Col Denis O’Kelly, his much-envied horses, his friends and possibly by his infamous “wife” Charlotte Hayes.
O’Kelly had come to England from Ireland and initially earned his living as a sedan chair carrier as a series of adventures eventually led him to the Fleet prison, where he met and joined forces with Charlotte Hayes. Together they made a huge fortune based on gambling, brothel keeping and horse dealing. It was this latter that led him to acquire the extraordinary horse Eclipse which is the horse from which 95% of today’s racehorses are descended.
O’Kelly is first recorded as coming to Bath races in 1771
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| At the betting post O'Kelly is in the blue Coat |
On Tuesday, 24th September, the four-day meeting started with a race for a prize of £50 [about £3000 today]. The race was open to any horse, and all runners had to carry a minimum of 8 st 7lbs except for horses who had won a King’s Plate, which had to carry 9st. The result was to be determined by the outcome of three four-mile heats. In the event, only two heats were run by three horses. Mr Hugo’s grey mare Frolic, beating Mr Carpenter’s grey horse, Danger, and Mr Brereton’s bay horse, Star. Frolic won the first heat with ease, the general opinion being that the other two had not really tried. Surprisingly the odds going into the second heat went as high as 20:1 against Frolic winning the second. However, despite Danger having run much better, Frolic won by several lengths. Two other horses had originally been entered but Mr Bishop’s Daniel had gone lame, and Dennis had been paid not to start his horse, Helen. It is quite likely that Helen was a nine-year-old mare that appears in the records as having been bred by the noted stallion and winner of the Jockey Club plate, a horse called Spectator.
The following day, Wednesday, they ran the annual Ladies Purse of fifty pounds open to five and six-year-olds. Five-year-olds carrying 8st 4lb and six-year-olds 9st. Plate winners in 1771 carried an extra 3lbs and winners of a King’s Plate at any time carried an extra 7lbs. The race was settled over three four-mile heats. The race was won by the Duke of Cumberland’s chestnut mare Riddle. Riddle was bred by the very important and successful stallion Matchem a grandson of the Godolphin Arabian. Every heat was hotly contested, with O’Kelly’s bay horse Humble finishing second and Mr Wildman’s Frolic third.
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| William Wildman owner of Frolic with his sons and the horse Eclipse Wildman was a wealthy meat wholesaler |
Next came what was billed in the Bath Chronicle as “the great Sweepstakes” for colts carrying 8st 7lb and fillies 8st 4lb. Ten owners put up £50 each for their horse to compete over 4 miles.
The horses that were entered were:
Lord Corke’s Colt by Gibson’s Arabian Out of a Mare by Blank
Mr King’s filly by Match’em out of a Regulus Mare
Lord Craven’s Colt Mechanic by Engineer
Mr Parker’s colt by Short-hose, out of a Babraham mare
Mr Coxe’s filly by Lightfoot
Mr Fettiplace’s Colt by Snap out of a Blank Mare
Mr Yeat’s filly by Tantivy out of a Babraham mare
Mr Bolton’s filly by Bell’s Arabian out of a Regulus mare
Mr O’Kelly’s colt by Squirrel out of a Cade mare
Mr Wildman’s colt by a son of Babraham out of a Cullen mare
However, when it came to it, only two horses actually started. Under the rules of the race, this meant that eight owners had to put up £25 forfeits. Dennis O’Kelly’s colt ended up beating Mr King’s filly in a very close race to claim the £250.
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| "Col" Dennis O'Kelly |
On Thursday the 26th, the proceedings were started by a plate for fifty pounds handicapped by age and height with aged horses of 14 hands carrying 9st. Winners of one plate in 1771 carried an extra 3lbs and two or more plates 5lbs. The plate was to be competed for over three four-mile heats.
The following horses were entered:
Sir Richard Philips’s Macaroni
Mr Birley’s Venom
Mr Parker’s Oberon
Mr Brereton’s Star
Capt. O’Kelly’s Milksop
The plate was awarded to Oberon, with a late entry brown horse belonging to Mr Yeats placed second and Milksop coming in third. The starting price for Mr Yeat’s horse was 6 to 4, but after the first heat moved to evens. 2 to 1 was on offer that Milsop would not win, and 10 to 1, Oberon did not win, but after the third heat which was won by Oberon his price moved to 3 to 2 for the fourth heat required to establish the winner. In the first heat, My Yeats horse finished well ahead of the field but passed the wrong side of the finish post, and so was placed last.
Mr Parker was almost certainly John Parker, who was elected to the House of Commons for Bodmin in 1761, a seat he held until 1762, and then represented Devon between 1762 and 1784. The latter year Parker was raised to the peerage as Baron Boringdon of Boringdon in the County of Devon. Apart from his political career, he was also a collector of paintings at his seat Saltram House in Devon. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in April 1767. In 1783, Parker's horse Saltram won the fourth running of the Epsom Derby.
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| John Parker |
Dennis O’Kelly and Mr Yeats had arranged a separate 100 guinea [about £17000 at today's prices] bet on which of their horse would be placed before the other in this race so Mr Yeats could console himself for not winning the £50 as his horse came second, but Denis's horse came third.
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| A 1771 Guinea |
On Friday the 27th, they ran for a plate worth £50 which was free to enter for any four-year-old colts or fillies colts carrying 8st 7lb and fillies 8st 5lb with winners of other plates or the Wednesday sweepstake to carry 3lbs more.
The following horses competed over three heats:
Lord Chedworth’s Bay colt Bauble
Mr Strode’s bay colt Prizefighter
Mr King’s Filly by Match’em
Mrs Dover’s black filly
Mr Foley’s bay colt, Young England
The starting price at the betting post made Bauble favourite, and he remained favourite after the first heat, which he won. However, when Prizefighter won the second heat with some ease, he became favourite, but Bauble won the third heat and took the prize. Young England was disqualified when ran out of bounds in the first heat.
Lord Chedworth was Henry Frederick Howe of Stowell Park in Gloucestershire
The Chronicle declared the racing at this meeting to be equal, if not superior, to any meeting in the kingdom that may reflect O’Kelly’s impact.
The huge popularity of the races can be judged from the estimate of 1000 carriages on the Down on the Wednesday.
The meeting was overseen by a Steward, Richard Hippisley Coxe of Ston Easton, who was MP for Somerset.
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| Ston Easton Park |
There was a grandstand erected on the Down for the convenience of spectators and owners.
There were special fixed-price meals on offer and special balls at both Simpson's and Gyde's rooms.
At this meeting, a match was arranged for a prize of £400 between Mr Bowles Jugurtha and Mr Parker’s Skim to take place on the 22nd of October. That match went to Skim.
