Full Dress was a "neat and compact" bay mare with a narrow white blaze and one white foot bred in France by her owner R. B. "Budgie" Moller. She was sired by Shantung a French horse who finished third in the 1959 Epsom Derby and also sired The Oaks winner Ginevra. Full Dress was the first foal of her dam Fusil, a winner of one minor race. Fusil was a granddaughter of the influential broodmare Mitrailleuse, whose other descendants included Commanche Run, One in a Million and Swiftfoot. The filly was sent into training with Harry Wragg at his Abington Place stable at Newmarket.
Full Dress ran three times as a two-year-old in 1968, finishing unplaced on her debut and running fourth in her second start. On her final appearance of the year she won the Crookham Stakes over seven furlongs at Newbury Racecourse, beating a field which included Shoemaker, a colt who went on to finish second in the Derby.
1969: three-year-old season
On her three-year-old debut win the 1000 Guineas Trial Stakes over seven furlongs at Ascot Racecourse. On 1 May Full Dress was one of thirteen fillies to contest the 156th running of the 1000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile course at Newmarket Racecourse. Ridden by the Australian jockey Ron Hutchinson she started at odds of 7/1. Full Dress produced a "burst of speed" to take the lead in the closing stages and won by one and a halflengths from the Lester Piggott-ridden Hecuba. Piggott lodged an objection against the winner for causing interference in the closing stages but after an enquiry by the racecourse stewards the result was upheld. Full Dress failed to reproduce her classic winning form in two subsequent races. She was strongly fancied for the Oaks but pulled hard in the early stages and finished eighth of the fifteen runners behind Sleeping Partner. At Royal Ascot she finished fifth behind Lucyrowe in the Coronation Stakes.
Assessment
The independent Timeform organisation gave Full Dress a rating of 115 one the lowest ever awarded to a classic winner. In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Full Dress a "poor" winner of the 1000 Guineas.
Full Dress was retired to become a broodmare, but produced no major winners. The best off her foals was probably Fairly Hot, a filly who finished third in the Musidora Stakes and produced the Dante Stakes winner Hot Touch.
