Morston (1970–1993) was a French-bred, British-trained

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse. He is best known for winning the 1973

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

on his second racecourse appearance. He was then injured, and retired undefeated.

Background

Morston was bred in France by his owner Arthur Budgett's Park Farm Stud. He was sired by the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a dista ...

winner Ragusa out of Budgett's mare Windmill Girl. This made him a brother of the 1969 Derby winner Blakeney. He was named after a village in Norfolk.

Racing career

Unraced at two, Morston made his debut in the Godstone Plate, at

Lingfield Lingfield can refer to: * Lingfield, County Durham, England, a village * Lingfield, Surrey, England, a village ** Lingfield Park Racecourse ** Lingfield Cricket Club, prominent in the 18th century ** Lingfield railway station, serving the villag ...

in May 1973. He won comfortably, but showed his inexperience. According to Budgett, the horse was "all over the place". In the Derby Morston was made a 25-1 outsider. His jockey

Edward Hide Edward William George Hide (12 April 1937 – 7 September 2023) was a British multiple classic winning jockey. He was, at his peak, the sixth most successful jockey in British racing history and remained the ninth most successful jockey over 30 ...

was instructed by Budgett not to be too hard on the colt, if he was not in a winning position. In the race he hit the front a furlong out and stayed on well to beat Cavo Doro by half a length. Morston was being trained for the

Great Voltigeur Stakes The Great Voltigeur Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and ...

when he suffered a tendon injury which ended his career.

Assessment

Morston has been regarded as one of the least distinguished Derby winners. Writing in the

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing, and sports betting publisher published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 60,629 ...

, John Randall rated him the worst Derby winner since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Budgett, however, regarded Morston as superior to his other Derby winner Blakeney, and the best horse he had ever trained. He was rated 125 by

Timeform Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by th ...

Stud career

Morston had modest success as a stallion. His best runners were probably Whitstead (

), Morcon (

Prince of Wales's Stakes The Prince of Wales's Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong and 212 yards (2,004 me ...

) and More Light (

Jockey Club Stakes The Jockey Club Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres) ...

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Derby Winners 1970 racehorse births 1993 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Undefeated racehorses Epsom Derby winners Thoroughbred family 20-c