Former jockey recalls MV O"Brien glory days

Ireland"s greatest racehorse trainer Vincent O"Brien was recalled with affection this week by former Athboy man Tommy Murphy, who rode for the trainer for eight seasons and remained on with him as an assistant after retiring from the saddle. Mr Murphy worked for a decade as head lad with Athboy trainer Clem Magnier before getting the call to join the Ballydoyle stable in 1974, when he was sharing MV O"Brien rides with one Lester Piggott. 'I was very lucky - I rode two classics winners and won the jockey"s championship in 1977. I would never have done that if I hadn"t been with MV,' he said. Mr Murphy was 42 when he won that championship. He rode Lady Capulet to win the 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh in 1977, and also won the Irish St Leger on Transworld, beating stable mate Piggott on both occasions. He rode The Minstrel first time out, and had three or four wins on Alleged. If Piggott was committed to riding in England, Murphy rode Ballydoyle horses here and in France. 'MV would plan a thing out, carry it out to the bitter end, and always be successful,' Mr Murphy, who now lives in Rosegreen, near Ballydoyle, said. 'He knew his horses inside out. Speed was the thing, and he"d always go for a good looking horse, a great walker. He was very shrewd and realised that there was more money to be made in flat racing, hence the move from National Hunt. There was more money in stallions.' Tommy Murphy says that O"Brien was the leading trainer in Britain and Ireland, even though he had only a maximum of around 50 horses at the one time at Ballydoyle. 'He was great to work for. We"d have a chat about a horse in the office before the weekend of racing. Therefore no one would hear you talking in the parade ring - there was very little said there.' O"Brien always asked a jockey how he would ride the horse, respecting the views of the rider. Mr Murphy stayed on as an assistant to O"Brien after his retirement in 1981, and was there up until the trainer"s retirement in 1994. 'We were the last to leave the yard then; it was an emotional time,' Mr Murphy recalls. 'He was a living legend.' While Tommy Murphy now lives close to Ballydoyle, some of his family remain in Meath, including daughter, Helen, in Rathcairn and son, Tommy, in Dunsany.