Champion jockey Oisin Murphy charged with drink driving

Champion jockey Oisin Murphy has been charged with two drink-driving offences following a car crash which left a woman in hospital.

The 29-year-old, from Hungerford, is due in court next week for allegedly driving while over the limit and refusing to take a preliminary breath test at the roadside.

Following the incident, in which a grey Mercedes A Class smashed into a tree just after midnight on April 27, a woman in her 20s was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Murphy, who had five winners at Royal Ascot last week, was arrested at the scene in Hermitage, Berkshire. The next day, he rode in five races at Windsor, picking up two wins.

He leads the 2025 jockeys’ championship by 17 from nearest rival William Buick.

A British Horseracing Authority statement read: ‘The BHA is aware of an update issued by Thames Valley Police regarding Oisin Murphy. We are now seeking to gather as much information as possible in order to consider what, if any, implications there are as a result of this development.’ Murphy, who is due to appear at Reading Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, has five rides scheduled at Doncaster.

He begins in the 2.50pm on a nine-year-old gelding called Annexation for Tony Carroll, a trainer based in Worcestershire. It is the first of 30 mounts he has booked between now and Wednesday.

There has been little disruption to Murphy’s schedule since the crash. Though he missed a day of racing at Southwell on April 27 — blamed in a stewards’ report for the BHA on ‘traffic issues’ — he has gone about his business as usual.

His two winners at Windsor the day after the crash were Sea Founder, for Richard Hughes, and Tycoon, for John and Thady Gosden. In the 60 days since, Murphy has ridden 234 horses. Flat jockeys are paid £167.67 per ride, meaning he has been paid £39,234.78.

His strike rate has been superb, partnering 56 winners — 53 in England, two in Ireland and one in France — worth £1,465,756 for 19 different trainers at 19 different courses.

The most valuable was Lead Artist’s triumph in the BoyleSports Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on May 17, worth £226,840. ‘It was a perfect ride, a peach,’ said co-trainer John Gosden.

Given he is the reigning champion jockey — a title he has won four times since 2019 — Murphy is much in demand and his wins in the last two months have been for figures including Sir Alex Ferguson and Michael Owen, Lady Lloyd-Webber and leading bloodstock operations Cheveley Park and Juddmonte.

Last week at Royal Ascot, two of his five wins — Arabian Story in the Britannia Stakes and Never So Brave in the Buckingham

Palace Stakes — came on Thursday, when he learned he would be charged with drink-driving.

At his best, ardent Chelsea fan Murphy has the engaging personality to bring a new audience to horseracing. His honest video appraisals on social media, after good and bad rides, go down especially well. On horseback, he has been likened to the late, great Walter Swinburn with poise, skill and timing.

Murphy has enjoyed some

stunning highlights, notably the 2,000 Guineas in 2020 on Kameko for Andrew Balding, for whom he is stable jockey at Kingsclere

Stables, and the 1,000 Guineas in 2023 on Mawj for Saaed bin Suroor. In total, he has racked up 1,674 wins.

His career, however, has been pockmarked by disciplinary issues and Murphy did not ride between November 2021 and February 2023 as he served a BHA suspension related to incidents during the pandemic.

Murphy has not responded to requests for comment about the car crash since his arrest. Thames Valley Police added in their statement that: ‘It is vital people do not speculate on social media as this is a live investigation.’