The rest, nowhere.
He gallops day and night,
not a worry in sight;
his muscles lighter than air,
with power beyond compare.
His troubles are far away,
and that is where they’ll stay…
For he is a superior steed,
and that is his creed.
For the love of the game,
and the wind in his mane,
his spirit’s untamed,
his heart unchained…
and the horse-racing world
will forever know his name.
Eclipse was a legendary race horse in 18th-century Britain. Born on the day of a solar eclipse in 1764, he went on to win 18 races, and was completely undefeated during his racing career. The phrase “Eclipse first, the rest nowhere”, came about because Eclipse was so absurdly fast that he would often cross the finish line before the other horses even came into view. Many race horses even today can trace their ancestry back to Eclipse, from the British Isles and Australia to America and Japan.
- Eclipse at Newmarket with a Groom and Jockey, 1770, painted by George Stubbs
Tyler DeWriter 