Hugo Morriss

Banstead Manor Stud is famed around the world as the HQ of Juddmonte, not least for housing the mighty Frankel. However, its incarnation as the home of the Juddmonte sires does not represent its debut as a source of racing success. During 2025 it will celebrate its centenary as a leading stud because it was first thrust into the spotlight in 1925 when Henry Morriss bought the property specifically to stand that year's Derby winner Manna. Previously Banstead Manor had been part of the massive Cheveley Estate, which at the...

There is something about the seasons in racing, the cyclical nature of the business and the sport. From the covering season, to foaling, yearling and breeding stock sales, and the races themselves, we set both our business and social clocks by these certainties, while perhaps measuring our own mortality by their annual passing. The last 20 years of my life have been spent in Newmarket, where this is felt particularly so. We count the days from the final November meeting on the Rowley Mile, blasted by the winds of the...