Dominance
The 29-year-old Oisin Murphy has run away with the title race and he will be officially honoured at Ascot’s glittering end-of-season celebrations on Saturday October 19.
To underline his domination, he hit the 150 mark with a Salisbury double on October 3 – that came before any of his rivals had even notched up a century of winners.
The title race had long since been sewn up by the time he reached the impressive milestone.
His quest to wrestle the trophy, that he last won three years ago, away from reigning champ William Buick, started in the second race of Newmarket’s Qipco 2000 Guineas Meeting when Desert Cop got him off the mark for the season.
Ever since that victory, Oisin has been as focused as a crack-shot sniper.
Relentless
A stunning four-timer on Newcastle’s all-weather track – little more than a week into the season – saw him burst into the lead in the title race.
He swiftly followed it with a Windsor double the following day and he has not looked back since. There has not been a moment’s let-up in his relentless pursuit of the coveted title.
His scorching pace has contained no less than 11 trebles. They’ve come at Lingfield, Windsor, Salisbury (twice), Newmarket, Haydock, Sandown, Newbury, Bath and Epsom (twice).
Two of the three-timers – at Bath and Epsom – came on consecutive days in July and there were five winners in two days at Sandown in late August.
His Newmarket four-timer on Sweet Solera Stakes day was even better.
That helped him rattle up 34 winners in August, to go with a season’s best 35 victories in July. To average more than a winner a day across two months in the height of summer was always going to be hard for any of his rivals to match.
Big Winners
There has also been plenty of quality to go with the quantity. His four Royal Ascot winners, included victories in both Group 1 all-aged sprints.
Oisin Murphy teamed up with Australian speedster Asfoora to land the King Charles III Stakes on the opening day of Flat racing’s biggest meeting and he signed off on the Saturday by partnering Charlie Hills’ Khaadem to win the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes.
Despite being the busiest jockey this summer – he has had more rides than any other jockey – he has still had time to make waves abroad.
He hopped over to Canada to win the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine last month on New Century for his main supporter Andrew Balding.
The trainer – based at Kingsclere, Berkshire and whose gallops run up towards Watership Down – has supplied Oisin with more than a third of his winners this season.
Hugo Palmer – who trains from former football star Michael Owen’s Cheshire stables – has been another significant supporter.
Incredibly, Oisin has ridden winners for more than 50 trainers. His wings have spread far and wide and he’s graced the winners’ enclosure at 27 different tracks.
His season’s vital statistics all add up – Oisin Murphy is clearly a most deserving Champion Jockey.
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