From the exhibition
'Morny': H. Mornington Cannon, Jockey
Leslie Ward · Leslie Ward ('Spy'), Vanity Fair, 24 October 1891

Ward draws the celebrated young jockey Mornington Cannon—nicknamed 'Morny'—in the distinctive silhouette Spy perfected: a profile view that emphasizes his compact, upright frame. Cannon wears a long tan plaid overcoat over red-and-white racing silks, a jockey's peaked cap, and carries a thin riding crop, signaling his profession without placing him on horseback. The composition is straightforward caricature without ethnic distortion—Cannon's face is mildly exaggerated for a ruddy, self-satisfied confidence befitting a champion rider. The caption simply reads *'Morny'*. At nineteen Cannon was already among England's leading jockeys, and Vanity Fair's plate confirmed his arrival in fashionable society, a world where Turf celebrity increasingly crossed into the drawing room.
Leslie Ward CC0