By Sean Moriarty

Killarney jockey Oisin Murphy will not be allowed to race as a professional jockey until this time next year.

Earlier this week the two-time British flat jockey was handed a 14-month ban - which was backdated to December - after being found guilty of five rule breaches including attempts to circumnavigate Coronavirus travel rules like attending events or venues when he should have been self-isolating. He was also found to have been over the blood-alcohol limit on two occasions last year. As well as losing his licence he was fined a total of £31,111.

The sanctions were placed on Murphy after a British Horseracing Association (BHA) hearing this week, which was deferred from last December. Murphy has surrendered his racing licence to focus on his own mental health and recovery.

“Mr Murphy’s breaches of the rules were extremely serious, reckless and potentially incredibly damaging for the sport. They risked endangering his fellow jockeys and racing industry participants,” a BHA statement said.

“We would, however, also acknowledge that Mr Murphy later made full, public admissions regarding these offences, and did not seek to contest the rule breaches at Tuesday’s hearing. He also gave full and frank admissions regarding his personal battles.

“While it is important that this penalty is served and Mr Murphy’s offences are seen to be acted upon, we would also call on everyone in the sport to respect the admissions that he has made about his physical and mental well-being and his need for rehabilitation. The BHA will offer any support that Mr Murphy requests in this ongoing process.”