Olly Murphy H&H visits the young trainer and former assistant to Gordon Elliott ahead of his first jump season
Hannah Lemieux visits Olly Murphy, as the young trainer prepares for his first National Hunt season following four years as assistant to Gordon Elliott
WHEN Olly Murphy had a four-timer across the cards at Stratford and Newton Abbott on 23 July, racegoers could be forgiven for assuming this was a seasoned trainer.
However, they couldn’t have been more mistaken. The 26-year-old was just under three months into his new training career, having burst onto the racing scene with aplomb and conviction that defies his years.
His purpose-built yard in Wilmcote may be a stone’s throw from the birthplace of Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon, but the best education Olly has received was less to do with literature and more to do
with top Irish trainer Gordon Elliott.
“I had four amazing years as assistant trainer to Gordon in Ireland and I learnt more there than I had in my first 22 years,” reflects Olly, as we sit on the sofas in his stylish new owners’ room.
In his own words, Olly has worked on creating a “carbon copy” of his former boss’ set-up since returning to his roots in May.
“Gordon told me not to do anything differently — just do everything I learnt there and don’t overcomplicate it.
“So I try to keep it all very similar to Gordon’s, from the rugs, feed and bedding to the saddle pads we use,” he says.
The facilities he has installed, adjacent to his trainer mother Anabel Murphy’s yard, also mirror those of the Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning Irishman, and I get to experience them first-hand, including the new round Wexford sand gallop.
For the morning, I am the latest recruit at Olly Murphy Racing — riding out three lots, including a nice grey mare (whom I want to sneak home) called Hurricane Rita, a sevenyear-old purchase from the Doncaster sales who has won over hurdles.
IT is also a schooling day at Warren Chase and a handful of jockeys, including Ian Popham, Charlie Poste, “Slippers” Madden, Lucy Barry and conditional Fergus Gregory, have come in to assist. Champion jockey Richard Johnson also rides for Olly when he is available. There is no set “work day” for the horses as such — Olly keeps it flexible depending on when each horse is running.
The young trainer has clearly developed a hungry appetite for success on the racecourse like his mentor, yet back at the yard the horses and staff relish the laid-back vibes that see the day start at 7.30am and finish at 4.30pm.
“We are fairly laid-back, but we all work hard,” says Olly. “Gordon always tried to get across that you work hard and play hard. Of course, there is a fine line but you still have to have a good rapport with your staff.
“I have a young, hungry team and everyone is ambitious with me, we are all friends and get on well — we all get stuck in together.”
His assistant trainer, Ed Telfer, who spent 10 years with Flat trainer William Haggas, has known Olly since childhood and, due to the speed the yard has expanded, Olly has also recruited young graduates from the British Racing School.
OLLY’S final day working as the righthand man of one of Ireland’s most successful National Hunt trainers was on 29 April — by the first day of May, he was back on English soil and his new business adventure had kick-started. He enjoyed a dream start too, with his first-ever runner, Dove Mountain, coming home a winner on the Flat at Brighton on 4 July.
It was, understandably, a daunting decision for Olly to jump ship from such a mammoth operation in Ireland to go solo. However, he was fortunate to have the family farm awaiting him on his return.
“I knew if I spent another year at Gordon’s, I would have been there for the next 10 years — I thought it was a good time to leave while Gordon was at the top of his game,” Olly says.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, I was leaving a massive establishment and coming home to set up a little establishment. But I wanted to do things properly from the word go — it was never about coming back to train a few horses, it was a case of running a proper business.”
He’s clearly a man in demand as his phone pings intermittently during our chat and it is not long before he needs to head off to Ludlow where he is saddling two runners.
“I’m very lucky, in the fact I’m not paying a huge rent or had to go and buy somewhere, but I have already put a lot of my own money into the place — we went from 10 horses to 50 in only a few months so I had to add new barns.”
Since his debut win as a rookie trainer, Olly’s campaign has snowballed beyond expectation, but does he feel the added pressure because of this?
“People say, ‘You started well, the pressure is off ’ but I feel the other way — yes, the pressure is on, I guess more is expected of you.
“But I’m a competitive person and I don’t like losing. Of course, you have to be a good loser but you have to have hunger and fire in your belly because there are a lot of good trainers out there — to succeed you have to be sharp and on the ball.”
Olly has certainly been on the ball at the sales and in his own words he’s been “plucky”, buying half a dozen horses each time, with the assistance of his father Aiden Murphy, a successful bloodstock agent.
AS an amateur jockey, Olly enjoyed 30 victories before the dreaded scales got the better of him and he switched his dreams to training. However, it was a blessing in disguise and now with 19 wins already on the board as a trainer, he is well on his way to trumping his tally in the saddle — and that’s just in his first season.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day — I just need to continue to do what we’re already doing and not run when I’ve only just learnt to walk,” says a pragmatic Olly.
“Over half of my string have never been on the racecourse before so a bit of patience is going to be needed.
“I have so much more to learn and I will make mistakes along the way, but if I can repeat what I’ve achieved over the summer up until the end of the National Hunt season, I’ll be delighted.”