Skewball Was a Racehorse
http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Skewball/Skewball1.html
Skewball was a racehorse. He was bred by Francis, (2nd) Earl of Godolphin, at his stud, Babraham, Cambridgeshire, and foaled out at Sir John Dutton's (owner of his dam) stud at Sherborne in 1741. His name, as recorded in the General Studbook, was Skewball ("Squball" in Lord Godolphin's studbook), by the Godolphin Arabian, and out of a Whitefoot mare called Bandy (in Godolphin's own studbook). Since he was Godolphin's foal, apparently by prior arrangement with Dutton, with whom he had several such similar agreements, he went back to Babraham in 1743 where he remained until he was sold to a Mr. Blake in 1747 at the age of 6. That same year he passed into the hands of Sir Harry Harpur of Derbyshire, for whom he won two races that year. The General Stud book notes that Skewball was sent to Ireland, as were his half brother Ajaz (1747, by Second) and sister Smirking Nan (1748, by Marksman).
Samuel Sidney [The Book of the Horse, 1875, repr. ed. Bonanza Books, 1985] stated Skewball "...won a great number of plates and prizes in England, and one famous match in Ireland." The Irish turf callendar says he won six races worth £508 in 1752, when he was eleven years old, and was the top earning runner of that year in Ireland. The match became the subject of a ballad, Skewball, which has endured, in varying forms, to the present day. The match celebrated by the ballad is listed in Pond's Racing Calendar of 1752. It was held at the Curragh in Kildare, Ireland, on Saturday, March 28, with each participant putting up 300 guineas. Arthur Marvin (also Marvyn, or Mervin) owned Skewball, who carried 8st. 7lb. His opponent was "Sir Ralph Gore's grey mare," carrying the heavier weight of 9 st. Skewball was a gelding, which explains why he was still running at age eleven; although it was not uncommon for horses to run to ages 9 or 10 during that period, successful stallions were usually retired from the turf to commence their stud careers. He won the 4 mile race in 7 minutes and 51 seconds.
The various versions of the ballad give a corrupted version of Skewball's owner's name at that time: Irvine, Mervin, and, later, Arthur Marvel. Most versions of the song make a point of telling us that Skewball had never raced "in the land" before, or that he was "brought over," which tallies with the information provided by Sidney. The thousands promised to Mr. Mervin by Skewball in the ballad is almost certainly not hyperbole: often in match races, it was not the purse itself that was of significance, although the 600 guineas actually laid down was not an insubstantial sum, but the side bets placed by the owners, often summing into the thousands of pounds.
The grey mare was owned by Sir Ralph Gore, whose family had gained a great deal of land in Ireland with the Protestant Cromwellian invasion (starting in 1650), which probably accounts for the delight in Skewball's win "breaking Sir Gore" in the final lines of this Irish-based broadside. The grey mare, according to Pond's Calendar, was by Victorious, probably either Portmore's Victorious (1725) or Onslow's Victorious (1722). Her name is variously given in the early versions as Miss Sportsley, Miss Portsley. In later versions, she is called Miss Portly or, inexplicably, Griselda [Grizelda, a bay mare of 1752, won four races for Tom Lambert in 1764 at age twelve, making her the top money winner in Ireland that year]. Sir Ralph Gore was a principal breeder in Ireland during this period, and did, in fact, own a famous racemare named Sportley (by Spinner - mare by Somerset Diamond) who was bred by Fulk Greville in 1740 and won a large number of races at Newmarket and elsewhere in England. In 1748 she was sold to Charles Wilson, who later resold her to Gore "...to go to Ireland, in which place she won two King's Plates, two prices of 60 guineas each, and one of 50 guineas, beating most of the horses &c. in high form there." She was later sold to Clotworthy Skeffington, Viscount Masserene and Baron of Lough-Neagh. It may be that the ballad-writers deliberately or confusedly substituted her name into the Skewball story.
--Patricia Erigero
SKEWBALL, bay colt, 1741 - Family 21 Godolphin Arabian
b. 17--Bandy
1733(Godolphin) Whitefoot
b. 1719Bay Bolton
br. 1705Grey (Wilkes') Hautboy Makeless Mare Darley Arabian Mare Darley Arabian Byerley Turk Mare Leedes mare -- Leedes b. Leedes' Arabian (Old) Spanker Mare Moonah Barb Mare
c.1699-- --
Was Skewball and Skewbald?
http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Skewball/Skewball3.html
A skewbald or piebald in 18th century Great Britain seems to have been any horse with broad splashes of white in any size and any pattern, what we would call a "Pinto" today. The first volume of the General Studbook (1793) lists several horses with the color noted as "pyebald," or "roan or pyebald." Later the terms were differentiated, a piebald used to define a horse marked like a black and white "Pinto," and "skewbald" marked with white and any color other than black. Today, these color patterns are more specifically defined, based on pattern and extent of the white markings. The tendency to spot can be present in solid-color parents, perhaps for generations, and suddenly "crop out" in a foal. This happens, although rarely, in many breeds, including thoroughbreds.
Today, it's generally recognized that the Sabino pattern of spotting is fairly common in thoroughbreds, most often in one of its minimal expressions, of a wide blaze and tall stockings. In some cases the white extends above the knees and hocks, and the blaze can take on wide and wild patterns. Occasionally such horses will have large or small splashes of white on their bellies and elsewhere.
Nineteenth century turf writers occasionally noted that skewbalds, piebalds, and duns were "previously seen" on the racecourses of Great Britain, but that they had all but disappeared. As mentioned previously, the first volume of the General Stud Book does include horses of the color "pyebald," one of whom, Rantipole (1769, by Blank - sister to Careless by Regulus) had a daughter, whose color was listed as chestnut, but who was named Skewball (1786, by Tandem). In the 19th century, the roan-colored Rapid Rhone (1860, by Young Melbourne) won the Claret Stakes at Newmarket. His granddam, Physalis (1841, by Bay Middleton), had a daughter who produced piebald twins.
Viscount Gage's hunter to the left is an example of what today would be called a roan-sabino. Miss Turner is a more frequently seen example of a horse with sabino markings.
Skewball is listed in the General Stud Book as a bay. He is also listed in Pond's Racing Calendaras a bay. His sire, the Godolphin Arabian, was a bay with minimal white socks below his fetlock joints. His maternal grandsire, (Godolphin's) Whitefoot was bay, although he probably had at least one white leg, given his name. We do not know the color and markings of his dam, Bandy.
On the other hand, Skewball's name does imply he was a skewbald. As noted previously, a later filly named Skewball was listed in the General Stud Book as chestnut but was from a "roan/pyebald" mare, and it seems likely she, at least, was splashed with notable white markings. It's entirely possible that the bay Skewball was likewise splashed with white. The 19th century writer Samuel Sidney includes a note about Skewball in his discussion about piebalds. Unfortunately, our primary account of the famous match, the various versions of the Skewball ballads, fails to mention his color--unless, he was, in fact, a skewbald.
--Patricia Erigero