Johnny Murtagh's Journey from Jockey to Top Trainer Johnny Murtagh is one of the most recognisable and well-liked figures in Irish racing, a giant of the game in his riding days, he is now established as one of the best target-trainers in the land. About Johnny Murtagh was born in Navan, Co Meath and showed great sporting prowess in his youth, though racing was not his first love. He was a skilled boxer and was on the watchlist of Blackburn Rovers as a youth footballer, but a chance encounter led his mother to enlist him in the Racing Academy and Centre of Education (RACE) in Co Kildare, where he excelled and earned an apprenticeship at the yard of John Oxx. The rest, as the saying goes, is history. Murtagh and his wife Orla — daughter of famous Tipperary hurler Michael "Babs" Keating — have five children; Caroline, Charles, Lauren, Grace, and Tom. Career as a jockey After joining the team at Currabeg Stables, Murtagh rode his first winner, Chicago Style, at Limerick in 1987 and by 1992 he was named as Oxx's stable jockey. Together they enjoyed lots of big-race wins, often in the famous silks of Oxx's leading owner, the Aga Khan, including Sinndar — who won the Epsom Derby and Irish Derby, as well as the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 2000. Murtagh was crowned champion apprentice in 1989 and champion jockey on five occasions, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2009 and 2011. He left Oxx to ride as freelance in 2003 and later teamed up with Aidan O'Brien and his superstar team at Ballydoyle as stable jockey where major success followed. In 2008, he rode 19 Group 1 winners in a single season for O'Brien and, the following year, his top-level haul included the Irish 1000 and 2000 Guineas double, the Irish Derby, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, Sussex Stakes, Ascot Gold Cup and the St. James's Palace Stakes. Murtagh left his post with Coolmore in late 2010 and was soon confirmed as the Aga Khan's retained rider in Ireland, once more putting him front and centre with Oxx. In February 2014, Murtagh announced that he would retire from riding to concentrate on his training career. He won all the Irish Classics at least once, three Epsom Derbys amid a tally of six British Classics, and every one of the Group 1 races at Royal Ascot — including five Gold Cups — amongst his tally of 43 winners at that iconic meeting. He was considered to be one of the finest big-race jockeys of his generation. Career as a trainer Transitioning to training, Murtagh has gained recognition for his insightful understanding of horses and strategic approach to racing. He has trained numerous talented horses, achieving notable success both at home and internationally. His first winner as a trainer came at Tramore on June 1st, 2013 when Benbacula scored under Ben Curtis. In the summer of 2014, he trained Mutual Regard to win the Ebor at York, one of Europe's most prestigious handicaps and a contest he'd win again with Sonnyboyliston in 2021. His first Group 1 success as a trainer came when the Colin Keane-ridden Champers Elysees took the Matron Stakes during the Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown in September 2020, while 12 months later he got his first Irish Classic as a trainer when Sonnyboyliston won the Irish St Leger at the Curragh. He gained his first training success at Royal Ascot when Create Belief landed the Sandringham Handicap for three-year-old fillies in 2021. Did you know? Murtagh was a talented boxer in his youth and it was during a boxing event in his native Co Meath that a spectator advised his mother her son appeared to have the balance, poise, weight and strength required to be a jockey. She enlisted him in RACE, a school for apprentice jockeys, and from there his career blossomed.
