Merry Hampton

Merry Hampton
Merry Hampton, from Illustrated London News
Sire	Hampton
Grandsire	Lord Clifden
Dam	Doll Tearsheet
Damsire	Mrs Quickly
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1884
Country	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Crowther Harrison
Owner	George Alexander Baird (“Mr Abington”)
Trainer	William Stevens Martin Gurry
Record	4: 1–1–0
Major wins
Epsom Derby (1887)

Merry Hampton (foaled 1884) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1887 to 1888 he ran four times and won once in a career that was restricted by injuries and training difficulties. His sole victory came on his racecourse debut when he won the 1887 Epsom Derby as an 11/1 "dark horse". He never won again but did finish second in the St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster. He was retired to stud after a single start as a four-year-old in which he aggravated a chronic leg injury.

Merry Hampton was bred at the Cottingham Stud in Yorkshire by J. Crowther Harrison. He was a dark bay horse standing 16 hands high, and although strong and "wiry" he was not a particularly attractive individual, being described by one observer as "jumped up, peacocky (and) lacking in depth." He was sold as a yearling in September 1885 at the Doncaster sales for 3,100 guineas to George Alexander Baird, who ran in his racing interests under the name of “Mr. Abington”. Baird, who had inherited a vast fortune at a young age, had been a talented amateur rider before being banned for “foul riding” at the age of twenty-one and was ill-disposed towards the racing “establishment”. By 1886, Baird’s relationship with his trainer, Martin Gurry, had broken down, and so the colt was sent into training with William Stevens in Berkshire. In May 1887, however, Baird was reconciled with Gurry and Merry Hampton was removed from Stevens and sent to Gurry’s Bedford Lodge stable at Newmarket.

Merry Hampton's sire, Hampton was an excellent stayer who won both the Goodwood Cup and the Doncaster Cup. Hampton was Champion sire in 1887 and sired, in addition to Merry Hampton, the Derby winners Ladas and Ayrshire as well as the influential sires Bay Ronald and Royal Hampton. Merry Hampton’s dam, Doll Tearsheet, also produced Gay Hermit, who won the Royal Hunt Cup and went on to become a successful sire in Argentina.