Grey Momus

Grey Momus
Grey Momus, by an unknown artist.
Sire	Comus
Grandsire	Sorcerer
Dam	Cervantes mare
Damsire	Cervantes
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1835
Country	United Kingdom
Colour	Grey
Breeder	Sir Tatton Sykes
Owner	John Bowes Lord George Bentinck
Trainer	John Barham Day
Earnings	21:14-3-2
Major wins
Lavant Stakes (1837) Molecomb Stakes (1837) 2000 Guineas (1838) Ascot Gold Cup (1838) Grand Duke Michael Stakes (1838) Port Stakes (1839)

Grey Momus (1835 – 1856) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from August 1837 to 1839 he competed twenty-one times and won fourteen races. Grey Momus first attracted attention as a two-year-old when he recorded two impressive victories at Goodwood in August. In the following year he won seven times from nine starts, taking two of the year's biggest races, the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Gold Cup at Ascot. Grey Momus won one competitive race and took three walkovers in 1839 before being retired. He was exported to stand as a stallion in Germany, where he had some success as a sire of winners.

Grey Momus was strongly-built, heavy-shouldered grey horse, bred at Sledmere Stud in Yorkshire by Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th Baronet. He was sired by Comus, who finished third in the 1812 Epsom Derby before becoming a successful sire of winners. His dam, an unnamed mare by Cervantes, also produced a mare who became the ancestor of the Thoroughbred family known as 2-e, which produced such horses as Reigh Count, Candy Spots and Granville.

Before he appeared on the racecourse, Grey Momus had been bought at Doncaster by John Bowes. The colt was sent into training with John Barham Day at Danebury near in Hampshire. Day also rode the grey in most of his races.

Grey Momus raced six times as a two-year-old in 1837. He made his debut Goodwood in the four furlong Lavant Stakes on 2 August. Ridden by his trainer John Day, he started favourite at odds of 1/2 and won "without any difficulty" by half a length from Kirtle, Anchorite and two others. Two days later at the same course he carried top weight of 124 pounds to victory in the Molecomb Stakes at odds of 4/7. His victories seemed to establish Grey Momus as the leading colt of his generation, and he was an early favourite for the following year's Derby.