Oisin Murphy’s journey to a fifth British Jockeys’ Championship has been anything but straightforward, yet as Ascot’s grandstand prepares for Champions Day on Saturday, October 18, 2025, the 30-year-old Irishman stands on the cusp of equestrian history. With an unassailable lead of 36 winners over his closest rival, Billy Loughnane, Murphy will officially collect his fifth champion jockey title, joining an elite club and etching his name among the sport’s modern greats.
It’s been a year defined by both triumph and turbulence for Murphy. The Kerry-born rider, never one to shy away from self-reflection, describes his 2025 as a “rollercoaster”—a word he repeats with a wry smile during a press call organized by Great British Racing. “I always want to ride better, and I’d love to be riding at a 25% strike-rate every month,” Murphy mused, cigarillo in hand, after tallying 13 winners from 61 rides (21%) so far in October. “But I can pick up that trophy on Saturday with some sort of pleasure and I can be proud of what I’ve done since the 1st of May.”
Yet, the journey to this point was hardly smooth. In April, Murphy was charged with drink driving and failing to co-operate with police after a road traffic accident—a personal setback that threatened to overshadow his professional ambitions. The incident, which resulted in a £70,000 fine and a 20-month driving ban, forced Murphy to confront his struggles with addiction, a battle he candidly addresses in his newly published book, ‘Sacrifice.’ In it, he chronicles the challenges of life as a jockey and his ongoing efforts to stay sober, noting, “When I came back in 2023 I was sober and had been since November 2021 and doing well. Like anyone with an addiction they have to work very hard at it and unfortunately for me I relapsed and I’ve had to pay the price for it since.”
Despite the turmoil, Murphy turned adversity into motivation. “I had the incident in April so I then had to really perform and prove to people I could still ride, I wasn’t allowing what was happening off the horse affect me,” Murphy explained to the assembled media. “Every jockey is trying to prove to the world every day that they are capable, but when there’s something going on in the background of course you want to show determination to carry on no matter what.”
His determination manifested in a blistering start to the season. “After a week or two I was already in front and I certainly had a point to prove that I could do my job with the things going on externally. That was what motivated and fuelled this title push,” Murphy said. The momentum never wavered, with high-profile victories aboard See The Fire at York, Lead Artist in the Lockinge, and Asfoora in both the Nunthorpe and the Abbaye. Royal Ascot proved another highlight, where Murphy bagged five handicap winners, a feat that underscored his consistency at the highest level.
But it was a series of four-timers—at Doncaster on his 30th birthday, Kempton, and Salisbury—that truly showcased Murphy’s form. “When I had the four-timers at Kempton, Doncaster and Salisbury I felt like I could win on anything for a spell,” he shared. “There are certain periods – you can’t control them, you don’t know when they’re coming – but for a couple of hours you feel like you can win on anything. And that’s very nice when you can get into that zone, unfortunately it doesn’t hang around for very long and you don’t know what it’s going to appear or whether it’s going to happen ever again. But it’s nice when it does go like that.”
Murphy’s dominance this season has not gone unnoticed by trainers and pundits alike, with several remarking on the elevated level at which he’s been riding compared to his title rivals. “Of course I want to ride better but I can pick up the trophy with some sort of pleasure, I can be proud of what I’ve done since May 1,” he reflected. The numbers back him up: a strong strike rate, a commanding lead in the championship, and a slew of Group 1 wins both in Britain and abroad.
His book ‘Sacrifice’ also reveals that chasing the title wasn’t initially on Murphy’s agenda for 2025. “I said in my book that I wouldn’t be going for the title again but William Buick and I discussed it and he kept saying I had to go for it. I really had no interest,” Murphy admitted. But as the season unfolded, the drive to prove himself—especially after the April incident—spurred him to push for the championship once more.
Murphy’s path to five titles places him just one behind Kieren Fallon and two ahead of both Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore in the all-time British Jockeys’ Championship tally. While still some way from the likes of Fred Archer, Gordon Richards, Lester Piggott, and Pat Eddery, Murphy’s achievements at just 30 years old are remarkable. “Winning the first one (championship) people could say it’s a fluke, the second and third weren’t so tough and for the fourth I came back from a 14-month suspension. This year I felt like I had to win again considering what happened before the season started,” he said.
Looking ahead to Champions Day, Murphy is set for six rides, including a much-anticipated partnership with Never So Brave, trained by Andrew Balding. Never So Brave, who previously won at Royal Ascot and the Group 1 Sky Bet City Of York Stakes with Murphy aboard, is aiming for a fourth consecutive victory. Murphy, who last rode a winner on QIPCO Champions Day in 2018, is cautiously optimistic. “I rode Never So Brave yesterday and he felt great, he’s had a good break between winning the City of York Stakes and now. He’s an improving horse but it’s a deep field. There isn’t much pressure because on ratings he has a bit to find. He’s probably my best ride on the day in the big races.”
Despite Champions Day not being his happiest hunting ground—“most of the winners are trained by Coolmore or Godolphin,” he quipped—Murphy’s focus remains sharp. He knows all too well how fleeting success can be in racing, and he’s determined to enjoy the moment while it lasts. Reflecting on his future, Murphy acknowledged, “I suppose maybe this is the best I've ever ridden in a year, and that's very kind of Saeed (bin Suroor), but I don't know that jockeys always have a choice, you either get injured or you stop getting the opportunities, or maybe you don't ride as well and your instinct isn't as strong. And I don't want to ride in future at a level that isn't as good as it once was, that's very important to me. I won't be riding into my 50s, that's for sure. I would hate to get to an age and all I have done in my life is ride horses around a field. I love riding horses but there are other things as well, life can be very short.”
As the curtain prepares to fall on another British flat racing season, Murphy’s resilience, honesty, and relentless pursuit of excellence have once again set him apart. Whether Champions Day brings more silverware or not, Oisin Murphy’s fifth title is a testament to his ability to rise above adversity and ride with both heart and skill. The eyes of the racing world will be firmly fixed on Ascot this Saturday—will Murphy’s magic touch deliver yet again?
