Newmarket mourners pay tribute to former trainer Dave Morris

The Duke of Bedford, Andrew Tavistock, lead the tributes at the funeral service for former Newmarket trainer, Dave Morris, who died last month after a long battle with cancer.

More than 200 mourners were at West Suffolk Crematorium on Wednesday to say their final farewells to a man who was a popular member of the racing community in the town he had made his home.

A former jockey and later a long-time work-rider for Sir Henry Cecil, Dave, who was 74, had his greatest moment as a trainer when saddling Bay Of Islands to win the 2000 Northumberland Plate in the colours of the Tavistock family’s Bloomsbury Stud.

“That win was a long time in the planning and what Dave enjoyed about it most was that he beat trainers renowned for laying one out for a handicap,” said the duke.

He said Dave’s other great passion, apart from horses and his family, was talking. “I knew if I saw Dave’s name come up on my phone that I would have to have at least an hour clear ahead of me if I was going to answer it,” he said.

Dave’s sons Paul, James, and Ben, paid their own special tributes. Ben said his dad was a legend and had been a father figure to many of those in the congregation such was his popularity.

And those at the service included current and former trainers Clive Brittain, Roger Varian, Charlie McBride, Stuart Williams, George Margarson, Chris Dwyer, Alan Bailey, Mark Tompkins, John Berry, Chris Wall, Harry Eustace and William Jarvis. Former jockeys in attendance included Richard and Michael Hills, Jason Weaver, Ted Durcan, Billy Newnes, John Lowe, Nigel Day, Philip Robinson, Willie Ryan, Michael Tebbutt and Ray Still, while former colleagues at Warren Place, included Paddy Rudkin, John Scott, Dave Goodwin, Tony ‘Bomber’ Majors, Stevie Kingstree, Frank Conlon and Arthur Boyd-Rochfort.

The service was followed by a reception at the Racing Centre in Newmarket where the service had been live- streamed. Donations made in Dave’s memory will go to Racing Welfare, Retraining of Racehorses and Cancer Research UK.