Oisin Murphy has capped off a memorable year by emphatically winning the 2018 Stobart Annual Flat Jockeys’ title.
The award is based on the number of winners ridden during a calendar year and the Lambourn-based jockey has eclipsed his rivals with 198 victories from 1,130 rides at a strike rate of 18%, 22 winners ahead of Stobart Champion Flat Jockey Silvestre de Sousa in second place (see the table here).
The 23-year-old won an incredible five British Group Ones this year, all in the QIPCO British Champions Series. This includes the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on QIPCO British Champions Day on 20 October at Ascot with Roaring Lion, where he was presented with the trophy by Her Majesty The Queen.
Murphy was delighted to win his first Annual Flat Jockeys’ title and thanked his team involved around him for all of the support he is given throughout the year.
"2018 has been a fantastic year for me. I’ve been very fortunate to get so much support from owners, trainers and all of the staff who work so hard behind the scenes, and obviously all of the fans who support racing as well,” Murphy said.
"I wanted to ride as many winners as possible throughout the year and I worked as hard as I could to do that. My goal was to get to 200 winners in Great Britain which I failed to do, but I’ve had lots of success here and abroad and I’ve had a couple of star horses who have really been a highlight of my year.
"It’s been an amazing year and I’m going to try my best in 2019 to be the Stobart Annual Leading Flat Jockey once again. Hopefully I can keep improving and we’ll have something to cheer about again next year."
Qatar Racing’s retained jockey won a total of £6,227,217 in prize money this year, winning 16 Group & Listed races in Great Britain, while he comfortably beat his previous best of 127 wins in a calendar year.
The month of July proved the most fruitful for Murphy this year, with an impressive 29 wins from 133 rides, including the Coral-Eclipse aboard Roaring Lion at Sandown on 7 July.
He has had no fewer than nine Group One victories in total across the globe this year, including wins in Dubai, France, Germany and Ireland, as well as in Great Britain.
Roaring Lion was the horse to contribute the most wins to Murphy’s season with five (four in Great Britain, one in Ireland). Murphy maintained an amazing relationship with the star horse and the pair won three QIPCO British Champions Series races together this year – the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on 7 July, the Juddmonte International Stakes at York on 22 August and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on 20 October.
Murphy also won two other QIPCO British Champions Series races in 2018, the Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on 1 August with Lightning Spear and the 32Red Sprint Stakes at Haydock on 8 September on board The Tin Man.
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