Luke Morris (born 20 October 1988) is an English
jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
who competes in
flat racing.
Background
Morris comes from a racing background, his grandfather Joe Tate, uncle Jason Tate and cousin Ryan Tate all being jockeys. He was born in
Oxford and moved to
Newmarket as a child. He began riding out for
Michael Bell while still at school. He completed a course at the British Racing School and became apprenticed to Bell.
Career
Morris rode his first winner in November 2005 and his first big race victory came on Juniper Girl in the
Northumberland Plate in 2007.
Group race
Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as, in Europe, the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'A ...
win on Gilt Edge Girl in the Group 3 Ballyogan Stakes
The Ballyogan Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at The Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to t ...
at Leopardstown in June 2010. In October 2010 Gilt Edge Girl gave Morris his first Group 1 victory when they won the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp at Longchamp in Paris.[ In 2012 he became first jockey for Newmarket trainer ]Sir Mark Prescott
Sir Mark Prescott, 3rd Baronet (born 1948), is an English race horse trainer with over 2000 winners to his name, including Alpinista, winner of the 2022 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He is based at Heath House Stables, an historic 50 box yard at t ...
. It was the Prescott trained Marsha
Marsha is a variant spelling of Marcia. Notable people with the name include:
*Marsha Ambrosius (born 1977), former member of the English band duo Floetry
*Marsha Arzberger (born 1937), Democratic politician
*Marsha Barbour, first lady of the U. ...
who provided Morris with his first British Group 1 victory, when winning the Nunthorpe Stakes at York August 2017 in a photo finish against Frankie Dettori's Lady Aurelia
Lady Aurelia (foaled 27 January 2014) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning a race on dirt in the United States, she was sent to race on turf in Europe and proved herself as the one of the leading two-year-old fillies of her gener ...
.
Between April 2021 and October 2022, Morris rode the Prescott-trained Alpinista to eight consecutive victories, including the Group 2 Lancashire Oaks in July 2021, and then six Group 1 races in Germany, France and Britain, culminating with a win in the 2022 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.[
Morris has ridden more than 100 winners every season since 2011 and has been all weather champion jockey on three occasions.][
]
Awards
In December 2022 Morris was awarded the Lester Piggott Honorary Award at the annual Lester Awards
__NOTOC__
A Lester Award is one of a range of awards given to jockeys at an annual ceremony in Great Britain. The awards are named in honour of Lester Piggott, an eleven-time British flat racing Champion Jockey who won thirty British Classic Races ...
in recognition of his ride on Alpinista in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Major wins
Great Britain
* Nunthorpe Stakes - (1) - ''Marsha (2017)''
* Yorkshire Oaks
The Yorkshire Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 3 fu ...
- (1) '' Alpinista
Alpinista (foaled 16 February 2017) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed some promise as a juvenile in 2019 when she won a maiden race on her debut and finished fourth in the Prix d'Aumale. In the following year she won the Upavon ...
(2022)''
----
France
* Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp - (2) - ''Gilt Edge Girl (2010), Marsha (2016)''
* Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - (1) - ''Alpinista
Alpinista (foaled 16 February 2017) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed some promise as a juvenile in 2019 when she won a maiden race on her debut and finished fourth in the Prix d'Aumale. In the following year she won the Upavon ...
(2022)''
* Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud - (1) - ''Alpinista
Alpinista (foaled 16 February 2017) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed some promise as a juvenile in 2019 when she won a maiden race on her debut and finished fourth in the Prix d'Aumale. In the following year she won the Upavon ...
(2022)''
----
Germany
* Grosser Preis von Berlin - (1) - ''Alpinista
Alpinista (foaled 16 February 2017) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed some promise as a juvenile in 2019 when she won a maiden race on her debut and finished fourth in the Prix d'Aumale. In the following year she won the Upavon ...
(2021)''
* Preis von Europa - (1) - ''Alpinista
Alpinista (foaled 16 February 2017) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed some promise as a juvenile in 2019 when she won a maiden race on her debut and finished fourth in the Prix d'Aumale. In the following year she won the Upavon ...
(2021)''
* Grosser Preis von Bayern - (1) - ''Alpinista
Alpinista (foaled 16 February 2017) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed some promise as a juvenile in 2019 when she won a maiden race on her debut and finished fourth in the Prix d'Aumale. In the following year she won the Upavon ...
(2021)''
References
Living people
English jockeys
Sportspeople from Oxford
1988 births
Lester Award winners
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