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| Dennis is the figure in blue. |
O'Kelly had come to England from Ireland and initially earned his living as a sedan chair carrier. A series of adventures led him to the Fleet prison, where he met and joined forces with Charlotte Hayes. Together, they amassed an immense fortune from gambling, brothel-keeping, and horse-dealing. It was the latter that led him to acquire 'Eclipse,' the horse from which some 95% of today's racehorses are descended.1771 was an important year for Dennis and racing as it was the year 'Eclipse' went to stud and his progeny feature in all the Bath races from 1776. It was also a big year for Bath with the opening of the New Assembly Rooms: race meetings took place just before the season's opening and generally lasted three or four days.
Claverton Down was used for many equestrian activities; the racecourse was laid out over two miles in front of Claverton Down House, facing Hampton Down, and, from at least 1773, a grandstand was erected on the course. Still, Genteel spectators were either mounted or in coaches. Racing in the 18th century was as much a test of stamina as of speed, and was typically settled by running four one-mile heats. Claverton Down horse racing attracted sizable crowds, as well as enormously wealthy owners and gamblers. HRH, the Duke of Cumberland, regularly sent horses to run there and may have attended in person. Many businesses in Bath sought to profit from this, and tradesmen paid substantial fees to have booths on the course and provide services such as shoeing. The Assembly Rooms would also take advantage of the crowds by hosting special pre-season balls, while local eateries would offer special meals.
A typical race was the first at the 1771 meeting, for a prize of £50 (about £ 3,000 today). The race was open to any horse, and all runners had to carry a minimum of 8st 7lbs except 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. As it happened, only two heats were run by only three horses. Mr Hugo's grey mare 'Frolic' beating Mr Carpenter's grey horse 'Danger' and Mr Brereton's bay horse, 'Star'. This could be the same Mr Brereton who was banned from the Jockey Club coffee rooms for making accusations of cheating against two fellow members. 'Frolic' won the first heat easily, 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 again. 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's quite likely that 'Helen' was a nine-year-old mare that appears in the records as having been bred out of Daphne, a daughter of the Godolphin Arabian, one of the three founding Arab stallions of thoroughbred breeding, by the noted stallion 'Spectator,' winner of the Jockey Club plate. This first race set a precedent with the crowd, who were surprised by and often suspicious of how races were run and the curious movements in the betting market.
At the end of the meeting, Gyde's Rooms held a ball, and The Chronicle declared the meeting to be equal, if not superior, to any meeting in the kingdom, which may reflect the impact of O'Kelly. The massive popularity of the races can be judged from the estimate of 1000 carriages on the Down on the Wednesday of that week. Another typical race was a sweepstake, such as the second race on the second day of the 1772 meeting. A fifty guinea sweepstake for three-year-olds over a four-mile course, which was competed for by:
Mr Parker's grey filly. Mr Parker is almost certainly John Parker of Saltram House in Devon, who represented Devonshire in Parliament and who would go on to win the 1783 Derby. The grey filly was probably a horse called 'Charlotte' out of a Regulus mare, and the stallion 'Shakespeare,' 'Shakespeare,' bred by Sir John Moore, was not a very successful racehorse but had a solid reputation for breeding good mares.
Mr Wildman's grey colt was entered on his behalf by Mr Coxe. Wildman was a wealthy wholesale butcher and stock dealer who had bought the horse 'Eclipse' from the Duke of Cumberland's stud sale. It's not clear who the J. Coxe that entered Wildman's colt was, but he was almost certainly a connection to the Coxe family, which owned Ston Easton Park. The grey colt was probably a horse called 'Lamplighter' and was bred from 'Antinous' by the 3rd Duke of Grafton at Euston. 'Antinous' ran for six years from age four, beating the top horses of his day in big purse matches.
Mr O'Kelly's chestnut colt, Young Colin.
Lord Corke and Mr Coxe paid forfeits of 25 guineas each to withdraw their horses.
Betting before the start was: Mr Parker's filly, evens. 6 to 4 against the grey colt and 2 to 1 against 'Young Colin.' In running, bets were offered that 'Colin' would not come last. The race reports described it as a very fine heat won with difficulty by the filly carrying 8st 5lb against the colts' 8st 7lb. The winner won 200 guineas (about £24,000 today).
The third race of the 1780 season was for three-year-olds over a two-mile course. The field consisted of HRH, the Duke of Cumberland's colt 'Polydore' by 'Eclipse' out of a Spectator Mare. Mr Luttrell's bay colt 'Tetrarch' by Herod, dam by 'Careless.' Mr O'Kelly's colt 'Budroo' by 'Eclipse' out of a Sweeper mare. Mr Parker's brown colt by 'Matchem' out of an Old England mare. In fact, 'Budroo' and 'Polydore' had in May competed in the first running of the Epsom Derby, 'Polydore' coming 6th and 'Budroo' coming 2nd out of a field of nine. But this day, 'Budroo' won and 'Polydore' came last. The following year, 'Budroo' beat the winner of the first Derby, Sir Charles Bunbury's 'Diomed' at a 300 guinea rematch at Newmarket.
In addition to pre-advertised races, two owners would often agree to race their horses against each other in a match. In 1774, the match that had been planned between Dennis's 'Catchpenny' and Mr Fenwick's 'Playfellow' for 200 gn was called off because O'Kelly objected to how Fenwick was proposing to pay with a credit note payable in America. This undoubtedly reflects his concerns about the rapidly deteriorating relationship between the British government and the American colonists.
At the end of each meeting, the subscribers chose one of their number to be the steward who organised the following year's meeting. Among the many colourful characters who undertook this role in Bath was the notorious Sir John Lade, Dr Johnson's godson and soon-to-be husband of the even more notorious Letty Lade.
It's not clear why O'Kelly stopped coming to Bath, but by 1783, he was 58, with only four more years to live. There were increasing disputes with landowners on the Down, who resented the damage and disruption caused by the racing. But Dennis was also starting to distance his family from all that had made him rich with the intention of making his heirs gentlemen, and in that, he succeeded.
1. An Historical List of All Horse-Matches Run, and of All Plates and Prizes Run for in England ... in 1729. ... by John Cheny
