Oisin Murphy has turned the race for the 2024 Flat riders’ title into a procession and will be crowned as the UK’s champion jockey for the fourth time at Ascot on Saturday, but the Irishman seemed to suggest on Thursday that the demands of securing the title in possibly “the most competitive weighing room in the world” could rule out a challenge for a fifth championship next year.
Murphy has taken 744 rides during the current campaign, at least 100 more than any other UK rider, while a 22% strike-rate – the highest of any jockey in the top 20 in the table – had taken him to 162 winners before racing on Thursday, 54 in front of the second-placed rider, Rossa Ryan.
