Olly Murphy on Elliott's influence, Kennedy's class and the challenge of taking on Irish trainers
The British trainer enjoyed Grade 2 glory at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival
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Olly Murphy has described Jack Kennedy as the 'most natural lad I've ever seen get up on a horse'
I’m certainly not an English trainer who begrudges Irish success, I admire it. They are ahead of us and we have to close that gap.
Olly Murphy learned his trade under the guidance of Gordon Elliott and the British trainer hopes his Fairyhouse Easter Festival triumph is the first of many successful trips to 'the lion's den', writes Paul Martin.
Murphy was 20 when he joined the Cullentra operation and spent four years as Elliott’s assistant trainer before striking out on his own in 2017.
He has since sent a handful of horses to race in Ireland and after a near miss at last year’s Punchestown Festival when Bread And Butter was beaten by a length, Brewin’upastorm broke Murphy’s duck with victory in the Grade 2 Rathbarry & Glenview Studs Hurdle on Irish Grand National day.
Victory for travelling British raider Brewin'upastorm 🌧️
— FairyhouseRacecourse (@Fairyhouse) April 1, 2024
The 11-year-old rolls back the years under @jackkennedy15 and holds off Zarak The Brave in an exciting finish 🎉#EasterFestival24 | @O_J_murphy91 pic.twitter.com/XmOxwcSMGX
“To go over and have a winner was special,” said Murphy. “With everything Gordon has done for me, and how much I’ve been involved in Irish racing over the last 10 years, it was brilliant to go back and train a winner there in my own right, especially on Irish Grand National day.
"The atmosphere was magic and that added to it. It was packed to the rafters and there were a lot of people there I knew.
“Did I think he’d win? No, I genuinely didn’t. To see him gallop down to the last with a chance and get that feeling of winning a proper race was magic, especially it being there.
“It was very special and I got as good a kick out of that as any winner I’ve had.”
Having served his apprenticeship under Elliott, who he describes as ‘an unbelievable man’, Murphy witnessed the fledgling stages of Jack Kennedy’s career in the saddle at close quarters.
The Warwickshire-based trainer was delighted to have the 24-year-old on board his contender at Fairyhouse, with every win now crucial for Kennedy as he seeks his maiden Champion Jockey crown.
“I watched him have his first ride on the flat with a horse called Taglietelle, saw him come up through the ranks, mature and become the man and jockey he is today,” Murphy said.
“He’s so gifted and you forget how young he is, and the falls he’s had.
“He’s ridden me two big winners now, a £150,000 handicap winner at Ascot when I started and now a graded winner at Fairyhouse on Irish National day.
“Very good is an understatement. He’s the most natural lad I’ve ever seen get up on a horse.”
Murphy’s former master Elliott is now one of a string of elite trainers he must take on if he opts to travel to an Irish race day.
He is not the only British trainer to have enjoyed success at a showpiece meeting in 2024, with Sophie Leech’s Madara landing a winner at February’s Dublin Racing Festival, but knows just how tough it is to challenge the big guns.
“I’d love to go over to Ireland more than I do but it’s hard,” Murphy said. “You step into the lion’s den, taking on the likes of Willie (Mullins), Gordon (Elliott), Gavin Cromwell, Henry de Bromhead, Noel Meade.
“They are raising the bar the whole time and you have to keep up with them. I admire them all and respect them all.
“I'm a massive fan of Irish racing. I love sitting down on a Sunday and watching it when there’s nothing on over here, it’s a real treat.
“I’m certainly not an English trainer who begrudges Irish success, I admire it. They are ahead of us and we have to close that gap.
“You have to have a good one to go over there but sometimes you have to get up and have a go, which we did, and it paid off. We got a great buzz off it.”
Murphy is weighing up options for a return to the Punchestown Festival later this month while Brewin’upastorm, now 11, could yet return to Ireland next season.
“We’d love to go back over with him next year, maybe for a Boyne Hurdle or something like that,” he said.
“He’s not getting any younger but he’s still got plenty of ability.”