Oisin Murphy

The raw numbers from the last twelve months tell their own story. Murphy has ridden 190 winners from 836 races this season, meaning he wins roughly 1 in every 4 rides. To put that in context, most professional jockeys would be delighted with half that rate. Sustaining 23 per cent across 836 races — a huge volume of riding — requires consistency that goes well beyond talent on a good day. It demands judgment, fitness, and the ability to get the best out of horses that are not necessarily the best in their field.

His partnership with trainer Andrew Balding is one of the most productive in the sport right now. From 296 races together they have produced 73 wins — that is 1 in every 4 rides, a fraction that holds up over a genuinely large sample. When a jockey and trainer click like this, it usually means they share an understanding of how to place horses in races they can win, and when to ask for more. Seventy-three wins from one yard alone is a working relationship that is clearly built on trust.

What separates the good from the great, though, is what happens at the biggest venues on the biggest days. Murphy has won 73 top-level races at places like York, Newmarket and Ascot — the stages where the best horses in the country turn up and reputations are made or lost. A Class 1 win at Newmarket in October 2025 is the kind of result that keeps elite trainers returning your calls. His numbers at Salisbury are also worth noting: 7 winners from just 13 races there amounts to more than half of all his rides at the track producing a win — an almost freakish hit rate at one particular course.

Whether it is an all-weather track at Wolverhampton on a cold March evening or a sun-drenched afternoon at Ascot, Murphy delivers. Four years in, 646 winners deep, and the trajectory still points upward.