Arc-winning jockey Luke Morris passed another major milestone at Southwell on Tuesday evening when partnering his 2,000th British winner aboard Colours Of Freedom (GB) (Mayson {GB}) for Archie Watson.
Morris claimed the ninth Group 1 winner of his career when guiding Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) to G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe glory at ParisLongchamp last October for Sir Mark Prescott.
And it was Prescott, who has been Morris's boss for 11 years, who came in for special praise, along with his agent Neil Allen, after the rider passed the important landmark at Southwell.
Speaking to Sky Sports Racing, Morris said, “I can't thank my agent [Neil Allen], Sir Mark [Prescott] and all the many owners enough. I'm very fortunate that I have been involved with some very loyal people.
“I've been with Neil since I had my first winner. He's more like a really good mate than an agent and I speak to him more than I do my missus. He works extremely hard. We're very alike. We've been working together for 16 or 17 years and we're as hungry for winners as ever. I can't thank him enough. Also, Michael Bell, who I was apprentice for, Stan Moore and Sir Mark. There's many others–far too many to mention.”
Career highlights for Morris include victory in the 2017 G1 Coolmore Nunthorpe S. at York with Marsha (Ire). He also enjoyed a Royal Ascot winner in the 2016 G2 Norfolk S. aboard Prince Of Lir (Ire) for trainer Robert Cowell.
The 34-year-old added, “I genuinely wanted to be a jockey since I was six years old so I wanted to make sure that I never left anything behind. It's been wonderful. I couldn't have dreamt of a better year last year and I'm just trying to find another one now.
“I actually rode my first winner here in a Banded race so we started off very small. I was with Michael Bell, who I had been with since I was 12 years old, and he sent me away for two winters which was the making of me. It probably made me. I've been lucky enough to ride for Sir Mark for 11 years now and he has had a huge bearing on my career.”
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