Oisin Murphy Is Unlikely to Win a Fourth Jockeys Title in 2022
In 2021 Oisin Murphy landed his third British Flat Jockeys Championship. In hindsight, it was a remarkable achievement. At the end of 2020, the Irishman was facing a six-month ban for failing a drug test while riding in France. The sentence was cut in half when the jockey declared his positive reading for cocaine was a result of a sexual encounter with a class-A drug user the day before his test.
Oisin Murphy did well to ride throughout the 2021 turf season given his growing rap sheet. ©GettyImages
With French authorities accepting his explanation, Murphy was free to ride in the UK from March 11th. If he was forced to serve a full six-month ban, he would have missed the first six weeks of the Flat Jockeys Championship.
The title race runs from Newmarket’s Guineas meeting at the beginning of May and ends on British Champions Day at Ascot in mid-October. During this 24-week period, Murphy has claimed 168, 142 and 153 winners during the past three years.
Case for the Prosecution
On December 10th, 2021, the 26-year-old was due to appear before the British Horseracing Authorities Independent Disciplinary Panel to answer charges of misleading authorities as to his whereabouts between September 9th and 12th, 2020.
There were additional and associated charges to answer. Namely: “Accessing the racecourse in breach of the Covid-19 requirements” and “acting in a manner prejudicial to the proper conduct and good reputation of horse racing”.
Just why it has taken the sport’s governing body 15 months to hold Murphy to account is unclear. If they had done so during the summer or autumn of 2021, the rider would have surely lost the Jockeys Championship courtesy of a ban.
Six-Month Alcohol Ban
And then there are the failed alcohol tests. In June 2019 Murphy was stood down from riding at Salisbury after he produced a positive breath test. In September of this year, another pre-racing breathalyzer test proved positive, and he was once again stood down for the day.
It has now come to light these two offenses sandwich a third previously unreported positive test that the rider produced at Chester in May 2021.
The British Horseracing Authorities rules state three positive race day tests for alcohol will trigger an immediate ban of between 60 and 180 days. If this would have happened in a timely manner, once again Oisin Murphy would not have been able to win the 2021 British Flat Jockeys Championship title.
License Relinquished
Murphy missed his December 10th hearing date with his legal team submitting an argument to postpone the inquiry on grounds of his welfare.
In a statement released jointly with the British Horseracing Authority Murphy said: “It became obvious to me and to everyone else that I needed to seek serious help. In recognition of this, I have relinquished my license and will now focus on my rehabilitation.”
Unlicensed, and sure to receive a lengthy ban before being given the green light to resume race riding, it is unlikely Oisin Murphy will find a way to ride for an uninterrupted 24 weeks beginning at the start of May 2022.
Will Buick Finally Get His Title?
Given the extraordinary timeline of events, William Buick could consider himself unlucky not to have landed the 2021 British Flat Jockeys Championship. He failed by three winners to overhaul his rival.
Before the full extent of Murphy’s charge sheet was made public, the best odds betting sites were offering 7/4 about Godolphin’s retained rider taking the title in 2022. The market has been suspended ever since.
William Buick (nearside) in a driving finish with Oisin Murphy. ©GettyImages
In 2020 Buick had also finished second in the Jockeys Championship. He was nine adrift on that occasion. His 2019 assault on the title was brought to a premature end when he was sidelined with a head injury sustained at Ascot in May.
At this point in time Buick – who was born in Norway where his Scottish-born father, Walter, was an eight-time Scandinavian Champion Jockey – must be considered favorite for next year’s title race.
Three Determined Adversaries
The 2022 British Flat Jockeys Championship is no done deal. Ahead of the 2021 season, there was substantial support for Tom Marquand.
The 23-year-old got the year off to a bright start but lost his momentum during the busy mid-summer period. Nevertheless, Marquand still finished third in the standings with 117 winners.
David Probert is no spring chicken, but numerically 2021 has been an amazing year for him. Including his rides on all-weather tracks outside of the flat turf season, Probert has ridden 170 winners during the campaign.
Big race winners may be hard to come by for the Welshman but with his current momentum, he could improve considerably on his fourth-place finish in the 2021 Championship.
Ben Back Healthy for More
Northern-based jockey Ben Curtis has been plagued by injuries, but he made an early run at the 2021 Flat Jockeys Championship. He may do so again in 2022 following two major correction surgeries performed in December.
During 2020, the former Irish Champion Apprentice rode a total of 170 winners. He also won the 2019/2020 All-Weather Jockeys Championship.
Given access to better horses than ever before – helped by a tie-up with Mark Johnson – in 2022 Curtis will almost certainly better his seventh spot in last year’s Flat Jockeys Championship.
