- Oisin Murphy reveals how he fared in insolation
- Reveals how procedure will run on Monday
- Feels comfortable with return to racing
Champion hoop Oisin Murphy headlines the jockey’s making the trip to High Gosforth Park in Newcastle on Monday.
They don’t come bigger than this.
It will be the first time since the coronavirus shut down on March 17 that the racing will be run throughout the UK.
Oisin Murphy was the leading apprentice champion in 2014, now 24 – last season he became the youngest-ever jockey to be crowned the senior jockey champion since Ryan Moore won the title at 23 in 2006.
Speaking to Racing TV, Murphy – who has three rides on opening day, has been forced to keep himself occupied.
“I’ve been about two months completely unemployed,” he said.
“I’ve been passing the time by walking and trying to keep on top of my fitness. I’ve been doing loads of cooking – I don’t think I’ve improved too much! Salmon and mashed potatoes are a staple diet at the moment.”
Like most during these times, Murphy has binged his fair share of Netflix, has resorted to home workouts and has been confined to his home.
“Netflix wore off after a few weeks,” he said.
“I suppose the first six weeks of lockdown I could hardly ride out, but the last fortnight or so I’ve been able to go into different stables and have a feel of some horses.
“That gives me a focus to my day, otherwise it’s very difficult to just roll out of bed and have nothing to do or work towards.”
Oisin Murphy even tried to pick up the sport of cycling during isolation but decided that it wasn’t quite for him.
“I’ve tried cycling – Tom Marquand and a few of those boys go off for miles and miles, but I can’t keep up with them so I threw in the towel pretty quickly.”
When racing returns today, Murphy gave great insight into how things will be run for the jockeys.
With the BHA providing racing personnel with strict guidelines and procedures that must be adhered to, Murphy revealed how things would be handled on Monday.
“We’re going to be split into different groups and all have our own area in the weighing room,” he said.
“There won’t actually be any need for us to get within two metres of each other.
“We are fully versed on the protocols and I feel comfortable that we can adhere to them correctly and we can go back racing and be good role models for other sports.
“I haven’t ridden behind closed doors, but it’s worked perfectly fine in Australia, Hong Kong and Japan over the last couple of months.
“It’s nice to have an atmosphere – Frankie (Dettori) will miss the crowds!
“But at the end of the day we’re looking forward to riding really good horses and buzzing off the thought of that.”
With the BHA rolling out the new-look season, it means The Guineas, Royal Ascot, and the Classics at Epsom will all come within four weeks of each other.
