Oisin Murphy takes home fifth champion jockey trophy

Oisin Murphy collected a fifth title as the domestic Flat jockeys’ championship reached an end on Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot.

Still only 30, Murphy looked booked for big things from a young age, truly announcing himself as a top talent on Ayr Gold Cup day in 2013.

A single championship was once a key goal, with as many as five titles a distant prospect in the earlier stages of his career.

He said: “I didn’t ever envisage five championships. I was hopeful I might get one, I remember finishing second to Silvestre de Sousa and hoping I could build on that year and maybe be there or thereabouts as it was a huge ambition of mine.

“Some years have been easier than others, this season I’ve had a commanding lead for quite some time but you are always looking over your shoulder, checking the results every day.

“You are aware that one careless riding ban or broken collarbone can impact on your season, so it’s never quite safe until you are in this sort of position.

“I aware I’m in a privileged and strong position riding for a lot of big stables at the moment and without that backing I wouldn’t be at the top of the championship.”

While Murphy is likely to have a few rides abroad in the winter and has travelled far and wide this term, and at the close of the season it is the young rider Billy Loughnane that he suspects will be a key rival in the future.

He said: “I tried to achieve everything this year, I didn’t want to miss anything abroad and I’m well down on numbers ridden here as a result.

“I think the likes of Billy Loughnane will be hard to beat next year, he’s got huge hunger but statistically he’ll have to be stronger but you have to remember his age, he’s only going to get better.”

The champion apprentice title went down to the final few days once again and after last year’s heartache, Joe Leavy went one better and took the top spot.

He lost out on the final day at Catterick 12 months ago to Sean Dylan Bowen, but this year held off Jack Doughty to come out on top and assert himself as a real talent in the saddle.

Leavy, who is based with Richard Hannon and the son of former trainer Barry, has a broad interest in sport as he was an academy level footballer at Stoke and Crewe when he was younger.

“I’m all the better for having the experience of last year. It was heartbreaking, but I was always chasing and it was almost like dying a slow death,” said Leavy.

“To go down by one was heartbreaking but to take it to Ascot this year and enjoy the day with a couple of rides made it so much better.

“My dad is head lad and my mum is one of the secretaries for the boss so it keeps my on my best behaviour!”

Aidan O’Brien is closing in on an eighth champion trainer title on British shores and is also bidding to break his own record of 28 Group One winners in a calendar year, though his focus remains on getting the best out of each individual horse.

He said: “It’s great when it happens (winning the championship) but we always put the horses first. It gives people things to talk about and write about, but we always do what we think is the right thing by the horses first and let the rest take care of itself after that really.

“We don’t ever think too much about that (records), we take one race at a time and try to do the right thing by each horse and do our best to win them.”