Oisin Murphy, the reigning champion jockey on the Flat, was fined \u00a370,000 with an additional \u00a32,000 surcharge and \u00a385 in costs at Reading magistrates court on Thursday after pleading guilty to a drink driving charge following a crash in the early hours of 27 April.<\/p>\n
Murphy, 29, who was also banned from driving for 20 months, was described in court as having tested \u201cjust shy\u201d of twice the legal limit for alcohol around seven hours after the crash. He returned a reading of 66 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, well above the legal limit of 35 micrograms per 100ml of breath.<\/p>\n
He was not required to plead to an additional charge of failing to provide a test sample at the roadside, following what was described to the court as \u201ca misunderstanding between him and the police officers\u201d by Richard Atkins, representing the Crown Prosecution Service.<\/p>\n
Atkins told the court that Murphy \u201cappeared to be intoxicated\u201d when police attended the scene of the crash, and that he admitted having been the driver of the grey Mercedes A-Class car involved, which left the road near Hermitage, West Berkshire, and collided with a tree. A female passenger in the car was subsequently taken to hospital.<\/p>\n
Murphy missed four booked rides at Southwell later the same day, but returned to race-riding at Windsor on the evening of 28 April, where he rode a double. He has continued to ride subsequently, partnering big-race winners including Lead Artist in the Group One Lockinge Stakes at Newbury in May, and holds a clear lead in the race for the 2025 Flat jockeys\u2019 championship.<\/p>\n
Alex Di Francesco, Murphy\u2019s barrister, told the hearing that the jockey \u201cwants to apologise, first to his passenger, to the public and other road users \u2026 and he wants to apologise to those whom he works alongside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Passing sentence, district judge Sam Goozee told Murphy that he was \u201clucky that neither you nor your passenger nor any member of the public was injured\u201d in the crash.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goozee added that while two aggravating factors in the incident \u2013 the fact that Murphy had been involved in a collision, and that he was driving with a passenger \u2013 would \u201cnormally be considered serious enough for a community penalty\u201d, he had also considered that the jockey had shown remorse for his actions and told Murphy that he had \u201crecognised that you have let the public down by virtue of your actions, and your colleagues in the racing world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge Goozee based his penalty on reported \u201cnet winnings\u201d by Murphy of \u00a3250,000 in 2024, and a salary \u2013 from riding fees \u2013 of \u00a31,250 per week.<\/p>\n