A preserved portion of chestnut skin from the legendary 18th century racehorse and stallion Eclipse formerly in the collection of the Turf historian T

A preserved portion of chestnut skin from the legendary 18th century racehorse and stallion Eclipse formerly in the collection of the Turf historian Theodore Andrea Cook, approx. 8 by 9cm., inscribed in ink SKIN OF ECLIPSE, mounted together with the original manuscript letter of authenticity, reading: ECLIPSE, FOALED 1764, DIED 27/2/89, BURIED AT CANONS, THE ONLY REMAINING GENUINE PIECE OF ECLIPSE'S SKIN, HE WAS A BRIGHT CHESTNUT, SEE PAGE 137 OF ''ECLIPSE & O'KELLY'', BY MR THEO. ANDREA COOK IN A PUBLISHED 1909, ALSO PAGE xviii OF PREFACE THERETO, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY AUTHENTIC & IS EASY OF PROOF, R.P., framed & glazed, 44.5 by 34.5cm. The present owner inherited this highly significant heirloom from his grandfather, an avid racegoer. The letter references the Eclipse skin as being the piece that came into the possession of the Turf historian Theodore Andrea Cook who in 1909 published a book on the celebrated thoroughbred and his owner titled 'Eclipse and O'Kelly.' On p.137 Cook writes: 'It had been said that the stuffed skin was standing in the loft above the stables at Canons until 1810; and Mr Aubrey Hillmann of Saxonbury has written to me as follows: ''The Late Rev. C J Plumer, Vicar of Ilford, near Lewes in Sussex, from 1868 to 1882, and before that at Elstree. Middlesex, was the son of Sir Thomas Plumer, Master of the Rolls, who bought the Canons Estate from O'Kelly. He often told me that, as a boy, he and his brother had played with the skin of Eclipse either in the loft over the stables or in one of the attics at Canons, where it was left by Sir Thomas Plumer. But Mr W Osborn Boyes writing to the papers in July 1906 says that the father of Mr W A Tootell. Magistrates' Clerk of Edgware, ''got to know they had sold the hide to a 'snob' at Elstree, to whom he posted off, gave the man a couple of sovereigns for it and brought it home, and for years it has lain in the loft over Mr Tootell's stables'', which are only a stone's throw from the gates of Canons Park. The famous skin was ''in pickle'' at the tanner's when I was last in Edgware in November 1906; but in the spring of the next year Mr Osborn Boyes very kindly sent me a piece which he had cut off near the withers, and I have no reason to doubt its authenticity; but no hair is left on it, and it has not been so well preserved as the portion that has come into the possession of Lord Rosebery.' The 6th Earl of Rosebery presented the Eclipse skin that had been at The Durdans to the Jockey Club and it can be seen on loan at the National Horseracing Museum at Newmarket. Cook states in the book that the 5th Earl had been bequeathed the skin on the death of the famous racehorse trainer Mathew [sic] Dawson in 1898. Cook's description of the two pieces of skin is accurate, the Museum hide is in very good condition and still has hair attached. The piece presented by Osborn Boyes is hairless due to the tanning process it had undergone. The individual who sent Cook the piece of skin was William Osborn Boyes (1846-1917) of The Chestnuts, Barnet, who was a Doctor of Law and was Registrar of the County Court and Clerk to the magistrates at Barnet. In his entry in Alumni Cantabrigienses it states that on his death he gave to his friend James Lamplough his cigar case made from the skin of the racehorse Eclipse. The Rosebery and the Cook portions of skin are the only known in existence. This auction therefore offers a unique opportunity to acquire the one relic in private ownership. After the death of Eclipse, aged 24, in 1789, the racing world set about discovering through science why Eclipse, unbeaten in 18 races, was so superior to his contemporaries. They called upon the French veterinary surgeon Vial de Saint Bel to carry out what is thought to be the first formally documented autopsy of an animal in Britain. Moreover his work led directly to the foundation of the London Veterinary College (now the Royal Veterinary College) with the Frenchman becoming its first Principal in 1791. The most notable finding by Saint Bel was that Eclipse had a massive heart, at least 25% larger than the average thoroughbred. Recent research carried out by Esther Harper, an assistant curator at The National Horseracing Museum, discovered a classified advertisement placed in Oracle Bell's New World, published December 21, 1789, Issue 175. This announces: ''Mr De Saint Bel begs leave to inform the public that the famous horse Eclipse represented as when alive in his natural skin together with his skeleton are to be seen at his house from eleven to three o'clock at half a crown each person.'' The horse's skeleton is still owned by the Royal Veterinary College. The Jockey Club own two other relics of Eclipse, both used as racing trophies. The first is a hoof gifted to the Club by King William IV in 1832; the other is the famous Newmarket Challenge Whip which has Eclipse's tail and mane hair forming the lash and a loop attached to the head. Eclipse's influence on the breed is virtually all-conquering. It estimated that over 95% of all thoroughbreds worldwide trace to Eclipse in their tail-male line. In July Sandown Park stages its most important race of the Calendar, the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes. It was first run in 1886 and was the first five figure sum horse race, with prize money of ?10,000, equivalent to over ?1.1million today. In the race that bears his name, Eclipse's dominant influence on the breed can see by the fact that all 16 of the four-day declarations for the 2017 renewal were descendants by tail male line. See pedigree chart on the facing page.