Death of Group 1 winning owner John Murrell

John Murrell, who enjoyed plentiful success on the track across two long spells as an owner, has died in Spain.

Murrell, a London native, invested heavily into racing early in his life in the 1960s and ‘70s. At age twenty-five he owned 30 horses and had a training yard in Newmarket.

Murrell’s early successes on the racetrack included Cawston’s Clown, winner of the 1976 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, and multinational Group 1 winner Gentilhombre, who won two consecutive runnings of the Prix de l‘Abbaye at Longchamp in 1976 and 1977. Both horses were trained by Neil Adam.

When Murrell sold his UK chemical business and moved to Spain, he turned his attention to golf (also becoming involved in the development of the La Manga resort) and left racing for years. He returned to the sport around 2000 and operated as a husband-and-wife duo with the horses running in the name and colours of his wife Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez. Murrell’s preferred strategy was to buy horses who had already shown early potential, as opposed to buying unproven yearlings at auction.

Group 1 winners came regularly in Regalado-Gonzalez's red and yellow colours, with a string of top-class performers from a relatively small number in training including the Group 1 winners Qualify (Epsom Oaks),  Zhukova (Man O’War Stakes at Belmont), Intricately (Moyglare Stud Stakes), Iridessa (Fillies' Mile, Matron Stakes, Pretty Polly Stakes, and Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf)  and most recently White Birch (2024 Tattersalls Gold Cup).

Trainers most notably associated with the horses in recent years include Joseph O’Brien, Aidan O’Brien and John Joseph Murphy.

Murrell was also a noted collector of Old Master paintings, particularly from the Spanish school, and in recent years donated or loaned several important works to the Prado Museum in Madrid.