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It's a very ill-judged interview IMO - and I think the BHA has serious questions to answer in how it allowed him to continue riding and has made the decsion he can have a licence with supposedly stringent conditions it is keeping secret when I assumed there were stringent alcohol related conditions on his licence already - and his dishonesty over the Covid situation seems to have been forgotten about.
 
I think I once read somewhere the suggestion Slim is on a long-term moral crusade against Murphy.

Whether there's any truth or not in that, it seems to me to be a subject Slim is passionate about, which certainly makes for eye-catching reading.

I'm less animated about it because people in racing (and in life generally) seldom interest me.

Trainers and jockeys, to me, are just walking sets of performance stats, whether they are "good" or "bad" people, or "good" or "bad" ambassadors for racing, doesn't matter to me.

There are one or two people in racing I have formed a casual remote liking for (though if I actually met them and spent time with them - something I have no desire to do - I might change my mind).

And there are plenty I have a casual dislike of - Murphy is one of those I've slowly over time developed a casual dislike of.

But I don't need to like someone to bet the horse they're riding or train if I think it's value at the odds and that's all that really matters to me tbh.
 
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I'm not really up on it all but Oisin has problems obviously with the drink and if Slims of the belief he gets treated different because of his status that's nothing new in the world of sports or celebrity. Mike Tysons still a household name despite being a convicted rapist, and been on drugs most of his life. Connor mcgregor is another who's been seemingly getting away with a lot he shouldn't. Jon jones another who's got away with a lot. Fighters, Altheletes of all sorts tested positive for drugs whether recreational of performance enhancing and not always been punished accordingly. People in high positions getting away with things they shouldn't and taking no accountability you need look no further than the majority Politicians, businessmen and anyone else with a shed load of money.

I'd rather have a drunk jockey than a corrupt one. And horse racing is full of corrupt people, in fact life is full of corrupt people.

I'd see singling Oisin out a pointless venture when there is a lot worse going on.
 
I cannot imagine many on this forum have seen the Amy Winehouse autobiography but there are chilling similarities.
When Amy high on drugs was put into rehab by her record company authorised by her father Mitch it was seen as a last ditch effort to save her.
When she came out it was thought best that she further recuperated away from the public eye on a Caribbean island again this was agreed by her father.
Whilst on the island and seemingly recovering well being out of the spotlight her father Mitch turned up with a film crew!!!
It seem you want the best for the poor addict but heaven forbid do not stop the cash cow that we are all living off.
If Murphy fails to heed the warnings of his peers the trainers and owners fawning all over him will drop him like a f***ing stone.
The sad thing is that there a lot of talented young apprentices coming through - what sort of a message is he giving them.
 
Like Danny I'd rather have a drunk jockey or trainer than a corrupt one as I have a real dislike for dishonesty.

But I have no time for those benefitting from preferential treatment. In my 20s I was on the shit end of the stick of someone else receiving that where I worked, in the end they did me a favour cos I just walked and got an x times better paid job. But knowing how much that grated on me I can imagine there's plenty jockeys out there not impressed with the special treament Murphy is receiving.
 
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Ian_Davies said:
I think I once read somewhere the suggestion Slim is on a long-term moral crusade against Murphy.

Whether there's any truth or not in that, it seems to me to be a subject Slim is passionate about, which certainly makes for eye-catching reading.

I'm less animated about it because people in racing (and in life generally) seldom interest me.

Trainers and jockeys, to me, are just walking sets of performance stats, whether they are "good" or "bad" people, or "good" or "bad" ambassadors for racing, doesn't matter to me.

There are one or two people in racing I have formed a casual remote liking for (though if I actually met them and spent time with them - something I have no desire to do - I might change my mind).

And there are plenty I have a casual dislike of - Murphy is one of those I've slowly over time developed a casual dislike of.

But I don't need to like someone to bet the horse they're riding or train if I think it's value at the odds and that's all that really matters to me tbh.
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It’s not a crusade. I’ve simply been willing to say things years before others realised I was right. He had my Twitter account banned for a joke at his expense. He has an army of trolls who play the bullying and mental health card on his behalf.

The reality is he’s a public figure, and I’m entitled—like anyone else—to voice my opinion on him. He’s not even hiding behind his PR team and internet trolls anymore; he’s playing the victim card and lying on camera.

If others can’t see it now, then I’m wasting my time saying any more on the matter. Just remember, that was someone’s daughter in the passenger seat—and Sheikh Fathead wouldn’t have been able to buy Oisín’s way out of it if anything serious had happened to her
 
Desert Orchid said:
When I read/see/hear in the media that someone is two or three times over the legal limit, I can't help but shrug my shoulders. The legal limit is something like a half-pint of beer.
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The legal alcohol limit for driving in Scotland is 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. This limit is lower than in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, where it is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

In England the limit is roughly equivalent to 2 pints of average strength beer (though it depends on weight, age, sex and metabolism), so there is a risk in drinking to this limit and driving immediately. In Murphy’s case, he was still nearly twice this limit when tested nearly 7 hours after the crash! So he’s obviously consumed levels that were clearly above those any sensible person would think it reasonable to then get behind the wheel of a car.

I watched his full interview this morning on the Sky website and I think it is quite a bit worse than the written version from the RP.
 
pawras said:
Like Danny I'd rather have a drunk jockey or trainer than a corrupt one as I have a real dislike for dishonesty.
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This is a pretty terrible take. A corrupt jockey has never injured anyone—except maybe themselves jumping off.
 
Mr Whatoxo said:
I watched his full interview this morning on the Sky website and I think it is quite a bit worse than the written version from the RP.
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Type 'Oisín Murphy' into the search bar on X. You’ll quickly see the consensus is now firmly where I’ve been for a long time."
 
You can have your biggest bet of the year that, if this was a low-profile journeyman jockey, Matt Chapman wouldn't have the remotest interest in giving such a sympathetic interview.

And if it was an overseas jockey he didn't have an ongoing working relationship with, it's odds-on Chapman would have be very happy to have put the boot in.

It's bloke I Casually Dislike interviewed by bloke I Casually Dislike and an item I'm unlikely to back a single extra winner as a result of enduring.

I'd marginally prefer a trip to the dentists - or even a copy of "My Favourite Fifty Closing Sectionals" by S Rowlands.
 
We can all pretend we’re stoic punters above the trivialities of low-IQ jockey drama, but that pose isn’t a good look either.

Take Patrick Veitch—cold, clinical, mathematically ruthless. But even he cares about the reputation of British racing. Why? Because he knows that for the game to remain profitable, the rot has to be weeded out.

Oisín Murphy is a walking PR disaster for the sport. He’s burned through every benefit of the doubt and is now a reputational risk British racing can’t afford. The sympathy’s dried up. It’s time he started paying the price.
 
All fair comment from you, Slim.

I'm not fussed about any "look" I present - I'm sure it's not a good look, but it is an honest one.

And I don't think I'm "above" all this, or even that it's a "triviality" in itself.

But there's an expectation stemming from the BHA and the racing media, that everyone interested in racing and betting should care about its image.

The reality is many don't - they won't say so, as yes, it's not a good look, but they don't.

I do find discussions like this entertaining, otherwise I wouldn't be reading and contributing to this thread, but the reality is I'm just not as invested in the game as someone like Patrick Veitch is, so the most exercised I get is to think: "He's a decent jockey and I'll bet a ride of his when it suits, but I don't much like that Oisin Murphy."
 
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Slim said:
Tell that to Frederik Tylicki and see how you get on.
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Tbf that's a good point although same as Pawras I wasn't really talking about him being hammered whilst riding. Was Graham gibbons under the influence when the accident occurred or was it just down to incompetence ? Whilst what you're saying is right I'd still wager that an incompetent jockey or an amateur rider is probably more likely to injure someone than Osin a bit worse for wear when riding and surely given his problems I'd imagine he'd be breathalysed before riding if there was any suspicion ?
 
Danny said:
Tbf that's a good point although same as Pawras I wasn't really talking about him being hammered whilst riding. Was Graham gibbons under the influence when the accident occurred or was it just down to incompetence ? Whilst what you're saying is right I'd still wager that an incompetent jockey or an amateur rider is probably more likely to injure someone than Osin a bit worse for wear when riding and surely given his problems I'd imagine he'd be breathalysed before riding if there was any suspicion ?
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You’ve both said it wasn’t meant as read, which is perfectly fine.

As far as I know, Oisín holds the record for failed breath tests — but so much of this has been buried, you’d be forgiven for thinking crashing into a tree with a girl in the passenger seat was his first offence.
 
I don’t get why the BHA thinks they need to be lenient. Some of their decisions are very odd imo. I recently commented on a recent issue that came up to do with a Pointing trainer. I have seriously enquired into what actually happened and discovered far more, some of which has been reported to the BHA. Again they have done very, very little. In fact it is alarming that some people within the industry can get away with such behaviour and others can’t.

Conversations I have had with colleagues seem to be shrugged off. If this were any other industry it would not happen any more. So why does it continue within the racing industry? I worked for part of the civil service thirty years ago and I used to regale them with tales of what I had experienced. They were shocked then and it doesn’t seem a huge amount has changed.
 
You see it in any area. Boxing, Racing, Musicians, Actors, Formula 1, Football etc etc, even Snooker. Come up from nowhere, get some money and 'celebritity status', start becoming socialites, hit the drink and drugs. Car crash, violent incident, drug bust, bad image, then they turn to drink and drugs more heavily becuse their moment of fame starts fading. Wreck.
They then get the sympathy vote, as "poor guy, under stress, fame went to head etc". Par for the course with the media. Easy on high public figures, while ripping into nobodies first chance they get.
 
jinnyj said:
I don’t get why the BHA thinks they need to be lenient. Some of their decisions are very odd imo. I recently commented on a recent issue that came up to do with a Pointing trainer. I have seriously enquired into what actually happened and discovered far more, some of which has been reported to the BHA. Again they have done very, very little. In fact it is alarming that some people within the industry can get away with such behaviour and others can’t.

Conversations I have had with colleagues seem to be shrugged off. If this were any other industry it would not happen any more. So why does it continue within the racing industry? I worked for part of the civil service thirty years ago and I used to regale them with tales of what I had experienced. They were shocked then and it doesn’t seem a huge amount has changed.
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I think there's some kind of brotherhood happenign in many areas. If you're part of it, you can make it big and be protected, if you're not, then you'll struggle to get far and be thrown under the bus as a sacrificial example if need be.
 
jinnyj said:
I don’t get why the BHA thinks they need to be lenient. Some of their decisions are very odd imo. I recently commented on a recent issue that came up to do with a Pointing trainer. I have seriously enquired into what actually happened and discovered far more, some of which has been reported to the BHA. Again they have done very, very little. In fact it is alarming that some people within the industry can get away with such behaviour and others can’t.

Conversations I have had with colleagues seem to be shrugged off. If this were any other industry it would not happen any more. So why does it continue within the racing industry? I worked for part of the civil service thirty years ago and I used to regale them with tales of what I had experienced. They were shocked then and it doesn’t seem a huge amount has changed.
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I think he has done himself few favours with that interview but what concerns me is that BHA big cheese Dunshea appears to have made the decision to be lenient , despite Murphy's record of lying to BHA and past misuse of alcohol , rather than referring him to the Licensing Committee to decide whether he should continue to be licensed . Moreover, the supposedly strict conditions of his licence are beingkept secret so apart from regular testing how can anyone know if he is breaching them ? It seems to smack of preferential treatment rather than following a proper open and transparent process.
 
I'd say there is a long history - and not just in racing - of flawed "celebrities" gaining and, for a while, retaining widespread popularity with members of the public who feel they can identify with them.

People who (pardon the unfortunate pun) have car crash lives themselves often lap up stories about "celebs" making successions of bad life decisions while in the public eye.

The human psyche is a weird thing and many actually take comfort from those manifestly more successful materially in life proving just as flawed as people as they are.

It seems to me social media is full of young blokes with a pint in one hand and a mobile phone in the other who, when they're not lumping on the latest Bloggeresque banker, or having an "acca," are all too ready to defend the likes of Murphy.

"Have you never made a mistake in your life?" is a popular mantra with them.

Well, just about all of us have made mistakes in our lives, but for most people those mistakes didn't involve driving cars into trees while over the limit, nor indeed the other numerous errors Murphy has made, for this was not an isolated incident.

I actually sense opinion is more divided on Murphy now than before.

There was a time when, to give an off-the-wall example, the IMO unspeakably-awful Katie (Jordan) Price had a level of popularity among those who seemingly identified with her.

But popularity is ephemeral as Price discovered and Murphy may eventually discover too.

Here in 2025 there is a tendency initially to focus on issues people have, and even laud them for having the "courage," to admit those issues, rather than focus on the consequences for others of a personal failure to manage and control those issues.

But even in 2025 life's supply of second chances remains ultimately finite, no matter who you are.
 
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Dingo Bingo said:
I think there's some kind of brotherhood happenign in many areas. If you're part of it, you can make it big and be protected, if you're not, then you'll struggle to get far and be thrown under the bus as a sacrificial example if need be.
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I read jinnyj's post before reading this post and my first thought was that, given that we're dealing with 'son of Jockey Club', there has to be more than a fair chance that freemasonry is at play among the men involved. I don't/wouldn't know, just guessing since so it is rife in so many organisations that traditionally involved men.
 
The other point that seems to be overlooked by Chapman and the like is that a lot of people have issues with alcohol but only a small percentage of them drink and drive .
 

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