Date set for Murphy appeal
Murphy picked up the suspension at Plumpton on Monday when the local stewards found him guilty of improper riding on Semi Precious.
The ban is due to start on St Stephen's Day - just three days after the appeal hearing - and will rule Murphy out until New Year’s Day, meaning he will miss the ride on either Our Vic or Therealbandit in the King George VI Chase as well as a number of other high-profile mounts.
Murphy had initially been offered an appeal hearing today by the Jockey Club, but that would have given his solicitor Rory Mac Neice little time to prepare.
“I appealed on Wednesday and appointed my solicitor to represent me yesterday, and he just wouldn’t have had enough time to get all the evidence he needs,” said Murphy.
“The 23rd is the date we now have. Hopefully it will all go well.”
Murphy is keen not to miss out on the busy Festive period and he believes the Plumpton stewards may have been a bit harsh on him.
“I didn’t think what I had done deserved seven days, especially over Christmas, which is our busiest time. It probably is a little bit unfair, and that’s why I have appealed the ban,” he added.
“If we all got 10 seconds before we did something, we’d never do half the things we do. But my intention wasn’t to hurt the horse, it was just in pure frustration. I went to catch him and he ran away again. I was only trying to catch him so he wouldn’t do any more damage to himself, and I’ve got severely punished for it.”
Meanwhile, Murphy continued normal service yesterday when Marcel scored a comfortable success at Windsor for his eighth victory of the season - a remarkable tally given that there are still a good four months of the campaign to come.
With Cossack Dancer setting a fierce gallop in the bet@bluesq.com Novices’ Hurdle, the easy-to-back 10-11 favourite was switched off in rear by Timmy Murphy in the early stages.
But he cruised through to make his challenge off the final bend and a serious error at the second-last by only danger Cherub handed him an easy four-length victory.
Marcel was bouncing back after suffering his only defeat of the season 13 days ago at Haydock.
Murphy said: “It was a bit of a blip but I think he was beaten by a decent horse there (Astronomic). He did everything easily today. He is a lovely horse who always gives his all.
“He jumps hurdles very well but he can jump a fence too, so there are plenty of options. He’s just very tough and a great horse to ride.”
On the strength of this performance, Marcel was cut from 16-1 to 12-1 for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle by Ladbrokes.
Having completed an 18-1 treble with the success, Murphy’s odds for the jockeys’ championship were cut from 5-1 to 4-1 by Paddy Power.
However, Tony McCoy still finished the day with a lead of 42 winners and realistically Paddy Power’s 1-4 about him successfully retaining the title looks a better bet at this stage.
Ladbrokes offer 7-1 and 1-7 respectively, with Richard Johnson next in the market at 10-1.
Murphy’s treble was kickstarted when Royal Hector (9-4) wrapped up a fourth win in the space of just 11 days as he coasted home by half a length in the Arena Leisure plc Handicap Hurdle.
Wary, perhaps, of the view the handicapper might take of too clear-cut a success, Murphy was at his cheekiest aboard the winner as he eased him past Miniballist on the run-in, the pair finishing 16 lengths clear of third-home Borehill Joker.
Another horse to make a quick strike while ahead of the handicapper was Lorient Express (15-8), who defied a 7lb penalty under Murphy in the HOH Oilfield Services Novices’ Handicap Chase, having finished second at Folkestone on Tuesday.
“He’s due to go up 14lb from next week so we had to run him really,” said trainer Venetia Williams.
“But I think he just found a well-handicapped horse at Folkestone and he has got his jumping together really well now.”
