Oisin Murphy, Joe Leavy and Godolphin were crowned champions at Ascot today as the British Flat season concluded with QIPCO British Champions Day.
Murphy secured the Champion Jockey title for a fifth time, having taken the accolade in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2024. The Irishman ends the championship with 143 winners, with Billy Loughnane next best on 108.
Highlights for Murphy included a G1 double at York’s Ebor Festival on Australian mare
Asfoora in the Nunthorpe Stakes and Never So Brave in the City Of York Stakes.
Murphy said: “You always dream about winning it once and it is great to pick it up again today. William Buick and I travel a lot together and he was revving me up in the springtime on the way to Dubai, Saudi and Qatar, saying ‘you have to try’, and that probably got inside my head.
“I had a good start in May, winning the Lockinge on Lead Artist, and that gave me momentum. It has been great to carry that through the season. In the last six weeks, I have had three and four-timers, which has meant the last fortnight has been pretty relaxed as I had a decent lead over Billy Loughnane, who has been riding terrifically well.
“The weighing room is very competitive. There are some very good riders in the British weighing room, Group One-winning riders with loads of experience and plenty of young talent as well. This is a difficult competition to win and I am pleased to get it over the line.”
Joe Leavy takes the Champion Apprentice title, having filled the runner-up position in 2024, when he lost out by two winners to Sean Dylan Bowen.
Leavy racked up 41 victories during this season’s championship, four more than his closest challenger Jack Doughty.
The 20-year-old said: “It was heartbreaking last year, especially given the season I had because it was a fantastic season. In August, I was 15 behind and then to go to Catterick on the final day with one between us and get beat was heartbreaking but a great experience at the same time. I don’t think I would be in this position now without the experience of last year.
“My dad always said the cream rises to the top and, if you keep working, you should get opportunities, but you have to take them when they come. I had a fall when I was 16, which left me in a coma. I had a fractured skull, a bleed on the brain and a broken collarbone. The head injury took a long time to heal and it definitely made you value things a lot more. I was young and it only made me hungrier to get back.”
Godolphin continues its domination of the Champion Owner title, taking the accolade for a 17th time following a campaign that has yielded more than £6 million in prize money.
Older horses came to the fore for the Dubai-based operation, with four-year-old
Ombudsman emerging as the country’s top 10-furlong performer and Trawlerman dominating the staying ranks at the age of seven. G1 Middle Park Stakes winner Wise Approach heads a team of promising juveniles.
Hugh Anderson, Managing Director at Godolphin (UK and Dubai), said: “Everyone at Godolphin is extremely proud to receive the UK Champion Owner trophy again.
“It has been a remarkable season right from the start, with Ruling Court and Desert Flower completing a Guineas double as part of an unprecedented weekend that saw four Classic winners for Godolphin here and in the United States.
“Royal Ascot proved another high point, and it was wonderful to see several of our top horses produce their best at the sport’s jewel in the crown. Ombudsman was sensational in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, while Trawlerman put up a remarkable display when breaking the track record in the Gold Cup. It was particularly pleasing to see one of our all-time greats, Rebel’s Romance, win at the meeting.
“We have enjoyed a huge amount of success throughout the season and all of our trainers have done an outstanding job in conditioning and preparing our runners. I hope we have much to look forward to next year, with Wise Approach and Distant Storm among a strong group of two-year-olds heading into the winter.
“Thank you to every single Godolphin employee, all of whom have contributed to this achievement. Our greatest thanks must go to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, who continues to inspire us all with his passion for the sport.”