MURPHY RETIREMENT SHOCK
Multiple Cheltenham winner decides to quit training
IRISH HORSE racing was stunned to a standstill on Friday when multiple Grade One-winning Wexfordman, Colm Murphy, called time on an outstanding training career.
Murphy (42), based at Killenagh, just outside Ballycanew, had celebrated a major success as recently as last March when the Gigginstown House Stud-owned Empire of Dirt swooped to victory at the Cheltenham Festival.
Little did punters know as they cheered Bryan Cooper up that famous hill that it would be the final time the quietly-spoken trainer would be taking on the National Hunt elite.
Speaking from his home at the weekend, Murphy told this newspaper that he has been very fortunate since he took up the racing reins, and is glad to be going out on his own terms, and not waiting to be pushed out of the game.
‘Owning a racehorse is a luxury item at the end of the day, and once the recession hit, it was always going to have a serious impact,’ he said.
‘It took a few years for the full impact of the downturn to hit, and on the other side, once the economy gets going again, a horse will be the last thing that someone is going to buy.
‘It was a business decision. When you are working seven days a week to pay the outgoings, you have to question the balance sheet at the end of the month. My accountancy background told me we just can’t make it pay any more.’
The accountancy background Murphy refers to dates back to his time in Aidan O’Brien’s yard, when he combined balancing the books with his riding duties.
As far back as then, Murphy thought being a horse trainer would make for a precarious living, but was ultimately seduced by the thrill of the chase.
Brave Inca was the horse that catapulted the fledgling trainer into the racing headlines. Inca won the Supreme Novices at Cheltenham under Barry Cash, in an unforgettable showdown of grit against War of Attrition, in 2004, before returning to win the Champion Hurdle with A.P. McCoy in 2006. Brave Inca also won the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown twice, as part of his ten grade-one haul.
Another of Murphy’s charges, Big Zeb, bagged six of the best, including the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham in 2010, and his victory in the 2011 Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase at Leopardstown has now proven to be the trainer’s final Grade One success.
Unbeaten mare, Feathard Lady, and steely chaser, Quito De La Roque, are among the other big names to reside at Murphy’s yard. In fact, Feathard Lady won each of her seven starts, including a scintillating performance in the 2005 Christmas Hurdle at Sandown, under Ruby Walsh, before injury forced an early retirement.
Another fantastic moment from the Murphy scrapbook was when Voler La Vedette gave Big Bucks a run for his money to finish sec- ond in the 2012 World Hurdle at Cheltenham.
This year saw Murphy’s yard get off to a positive start, when he welcomed a pair of horses to his yard from owners Alan and Ann Potts. Wins for Marlbrook at Fairyhouse, and Naas, before Empire of Dirt’s success at The Festival, suggested a significant return to form for the trainer.
More recently, Mr. and Mrs. Potts decided to move the remaining horses they had in training with Henry de Bromhead over to Murphy’s yard.
In the end, however, the trainer said his retirement decision came down to monetary matters.
‘We’ve been very fortunate to have some fantastic horses over the years and I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Potts, and all the owners and staff that have given us so much support,’ he said.
‘Winning the Champion Hurdle and the Champion Chase were great days. Brave Inca was probably top of the pile, and I suppose last year’s Cheltenham winner was so sweet as it had been tough going for so long.
‘I’m not sure what I’m going to do (now), to be honest. I’ll take a bit of time and see what opportunities arise.
‘It’s not been an easy decision, but I had to have a chat with myself and you have to be realistic. It was a business decision at the end of the day.’
Murphy bows out with his name inscribed in the hallowed print of the racing annals, alongside such legendary Champion Hurdle winning names as Istabraq, Hardy Eustace and Hurricane Fly.
He has revealed that Black Zambezi will most likely be his final runner at Gowran Park next Saturday.
There will be plenty of his Wexford supporters, who will live long on the magic of the racing memories he has given them, hoping that he hangs up the saddle on one final high.