Portrait of jockey Katie Walsh scoops top photo prize

A portrait of jump jockey Katie Walsh taken moments after the end of a race has won a top photography prize.

The picture, by Spencer Murphy, was taken at Kempton Park racecourse as part of a campaign advertising Channel 4’s coverage of racing.

The 35-year-old photographer, from Kent, accepted the £12,000 (€14,200) Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize at an event at the National Portrait Gallery in London last night.

Explaining how he took the picture, he said: “I set up at the side of the racecourse and pulled in the jockeys as they finished their races.

“I was keen to include Katie. I wanted to show both her femininity and the toughness of spirit she requires to compete against the best riders in one of the most demanding disciplines in horse racing.

“I chose to shoot the series on large format film, to give the images a depth and timelessness that I think would have been hard to achieve on a digital camera.”

The winning picture goes on show at the central London gallery from Thursday until February 9.

The judges chose 60 pictures for the exhibition from 5,410 submissions by 2,435 photographers.