Brant Dunshea, the acting chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, revealed on Thursday that the regulator is going to apply “incredibly strict” conditions to Oisin Murphy’s riding licence after the champion jockey’s conviction on a drink-driving charge at Reading magistrates’ court last week.
Murphy was fined £70,000, one of the highest penalties ever imposed for drink-driving in the UK, and banned for 20 months after an incident near his home in Berkshire in late April when a car that Murphy was driving collided with a tree. The jockey was nearly twice the legal limit for alcohol in his breath when tested by police around seven hours after the crash.
Murphy was banned from riding for 14 months from December 2021 after admitting breaches of Covid-19 protocols, failing two pre-racing breath tests for alcohol and misleading BHA officials. He returned to action in February 2023 with additional conditions on his licence. He was back in action at Windsor less than 48 hours after the crash in April, and was 20 winners clear of his nearest rival in the race for the 2025 Flat jockeys’ championship before the start of the July Festival here on Thursday.
Dunshea, who said the BHA was in the “final stages” of finalising the conditions, told ITV Racing that they will be “incredibly strict”, and “will include enhanced testing, both on the racecourse and away from the racecourse”.
He added: “We’re working to come up with a set of conditions that not only ensures we’re protecting the integrity and reputation of British racing and the safety of our horses and people, but also that we’re doing it in a way that ensures that Oisin gets the support and help that he might need to deal with his issues.”
Murphy retains a big lead in the title race despite having failed to ride a winner from 21 rides since his court hearing last week. He drew a blank from six booked rides at Newmarket on Thursday and has six more on Friday’s card, including Running Lion in the Group One Falmouth Stakes.
The shape of the feature race here on Thursday changed significantly less than 30 minutes before the scheduled off-time when Ghostwriter, the strong favourite for the Group Two Princess Of Wales’s Stakes, was declared a non-runner after what Clive Cox, his trainer, described as a “freak incident” in the pre-parade ring. “I was putting the saddle on when he reared over backwards and sat down,” Cox said.
The four-year-old, who was bought for £2m to race for football agent Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing operation at a sale in London in June, was taken to Newmarket’s Equine Hospital for examination.
In his absence, William Buick steered El Cordobes to victory in the Group Two Princess of Wales’s Stakes, the 2,000th victory of his career in Britain. Buick is now one of only seven current jockeys to have reached the 2,000-winner landmark.
“It means a lot and I suppose it tells me and everyone else that I’ve been doing this for quite a long time,” Buick said. “There are some places to do it that aren’t as glamorous as Newmarket’s July meeting, no offence, so to do it here at my home track, for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin, makes it all the more special.”
Newmarket 1.50 War Hawk 2.25 Venetian Sun 3.00 Dancing In Paris (nap) 3.35 January (nb) 4.10 Distant Storm 4.45 Up The Pace 5.20 Grandlad
Ascot 2.00 Lady Of Arabia 2.35 Front Line Fury 3.10 Knights Gold 3.45 Ciara Pearl 4.20 Run With It 4.55 Fast Track Harry
York 2.10 Streets Of Gold 2.45 Sayidah Dariyan 3.20 Aylin 3.55 Up The Jazz 4.32 Mahra’s Love 5.07 Brazen Bolt 5.40 Secret Beach
Chepstow 5.35 King Of The Dance 6.10 Blooming Legend 6.40 Miakoda 7.10 Brave Byreflection 7.40 Soi Dao 8.10 Savannah Smiles 8.40 Spectacular Style
Chester 5.55 Steel Drum 6.25 Calico Blue 6.55 Miami Matrix 7.25 Miss Herschel 7.55 Love Beach 8.25 Maharajas Express 8.55 Petra Celera
In the main supporting race, the Group Two July Stakes, Eve Johnson Houghton celebrated her second high-profile juvenile success in less than a month as Zavateri, the 18-1 outsider of the six runners, ran out an impressive winner.
“He and Havana Hurricane [the Windsor Castle Stakes winner at Royal Ascot] are different horses and never work together,” Johnson Houghton said. “I think Zavateri could stretch to a mile next season, he’s got the pedigree for it.” Zavateri is a 33-1 chance with Paddy Power for next season’s 2,000 Guineas, and 8-1 from 50-1 for the Gimcrack Stakes at York next month.
