Robin Oakley

Has there ever been a jockey like Oisin Murphy?

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issue 27 July 2024

We are blessed these days with a rare stream of jockey talent including the likes of William Buick, Ryan Moore, Tom Marquand and Rossa Ryan. Well clear of the pack though in the chase for the jockeys championship is former champion Oisin Murphy, and five minutes in the winners’ enclosure rather than on the track left me convinced at Newbury last Saturday that if I still had shares in a horse, Oisin would be the one I’d want riding it – and not just because of the two trebles he notched up last week.

Successful trainer Hugo Palmer wasn’t in evidence but surrounded by a gaggle of owners after the 4.10 Novice Stakes, Oisin truly earned his £162.79 rider’s fee by giving them a state-of-the-art debrief. Time was when some jockeys would accept a pat on the back, mutter ‘Nice ’orse’ and head off to the weighing room.

A horse who could win as he did at Newbury without being 100 per cent fit is a horse to follow

Not Oisin.

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