Ferdy Murphy

1948 - 2019

Better known as a trainer than a jockey, Ferdinand (Ferdy) Murphy was born in rural County Wexford, Ireland on November 6, 1948. On leaving school he became apprenticed to Phonsie O’Brien at Carrick-on-Suir, Tipperary. He later joined the stable of jumping legend Paddy Mullins, spending six years at the yard as both stable jockey and head lad. He was instrumental in producing Mullins’ best-ever Flat winner, the mare Harry Harriet, who upset the French champion Allez France in winning the 1973 Champion Stakes.

Ferdy rode over 100 winners, many of them for Mullins. During the 1973-74 season he won five races on the Mullins-trained Desu Barker, culminating in the Downshire Handicap Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival. He also enjoyed his most important success at Punchestown aboard the Billy Boyers-trained Artistic Prince in the 1977 John Jameson Cup.

In 1979 he began a six-year spell as private trainer for leading owner Bill Durkan at his Carrowkeel Stud in Sandyford, County Dublin. Although the horses raced in Durkan’s name, Ferdy was effectively in charge of the day-to-day running of the yard and training of the horses.

Much the best and most famous he trained was the brilliant front-running mare Anaglogs Daughter. She was the champion novice chaser of the 1979-80 season, in which she scored runaway victories in both the Arkle Chase at Leopardstown and the Arkle Chase at Cheltenham, demolishing her rivals in the latter version to record a 20-length triumph in the hands of Tommy Carberry.

Just four days after that Cheltenham romp, Anaglogs Daughter was engaged to run in the Aynsley China Cup Chase at Chepstow. However, Carberry suffered an injury on the final afternoon of the Festival meeting, so Ferdy stepped in for the ride (left) and guided her to an easy six-length success.

Anaglogs Daughter started the next season with a dazzling all-the-way victory in the Buchanan Whisky Gold Cup at Ascot. She also finished second to Silver Buck in the 1980 King George VI Chase.

Another of Bill Durkan’s stable stars was Carrow Boy. He won a handicap chase Aintree’s 1980 Grand National meeting and ran three times in the big race itself. Although Durkan was officially listed as her trainer, Ferdy, his employee, was the man behind their success.

In the autumn of 1985 Ferdy moved to Suffolk to take up a similar role as unofficial private trainer to Geoff Hubbard, a businessman who was setting up his own stables at Worlingworth Hall, Woodbridge. While Hubbard was officially listed as the permit holder, Ferdy ran the training operation. Their best horses included Gee-A, who won the 1987 Mildmay Of Flete Chase at the Cheltenham Festival with Gee Armytage in the saddle. The same horse later won the 1992 Foxhunters’ over the Grand National fences at Aintree with Ferdy’s son, Paul, in the saddle.

In the summer of 1990 Ferdy was granted a trainer’s licence, meaning he would now officially receive the credit for his winners. His first winner as a licensed trained was Geoff Hubbard’s Sibton Abbey at Huntingdon on August 27, 1990. Sibton Abbey went on to land the Hennessy Cogncac Gold Cup at Newbury in 1992, at 40-1, giving Ferdy his first major success in his own name.

The stable’s success attracted the attention of other owners but Hubbard insisted that it would remain a private operation with no outside patrons. Ferdy therefore left Suffolk in 1994 and set up as a public trainer, first at West Buckland in Somerset, then at Oak Wood Stables at Middleham from 1995 to 1997, and finally to Wynbury Stables at West Witton, where he remained until 2013.

He trained Paddy’s Return to win the 1996 Triumph Hurdle and developed him into a double champion at three miles, winning the Champion Stayers Hurdle at Punchestown and the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot in 1997. His other top-class hurdler was French Holly, who was unbeaten five novice hurdles during the 1997/98 season, culminating in a runaway 14-length victory in the Royal & Sun Alliance Hurdle at Cheltenham. French Holly added another Grade 1 win in the 1998 Christmas Hurdle and finished third to Istabraq in the 1999 Champion Hurdle. Sadly, he was later killed in a schooling fall at home, shortly after winning on his debut over fences.

Ferdy won the Scottish Grand National three times, with Paris Pike (2000), Joes Edge (2005) and Hot Weld (2007). He won the Irish Grand National with Granit D’Estruval in 2004.

Other major wins included those of Poker De Sivola (Bet365 Gold Cup), L’Antartique (Paddy Power Gold Cup) and Hot Weld (National Hunt Chase and Betfred Gold Cup).

He also trained Trucker’s Tavern, runner-up to Best Mate in the 2003 Cheltenham Gold Cup, and Kalahari King, who was placed in the Arkle, Queen Mother Champion and Ryanair Chases at Cheltenham. His most successful season numerically was in 2006/07 with 68 winners.

In 2013, Ferdy announced he was moving from North Yorkshire to Lisieux in Normandy where he continued as a trainer while also buying horses to sell on, including the Festival winners Al Ferof and Cheltenian. In 2014 he moved base to Senonnes in the Loire Valley.

In 2015 he was diagnosed with cancer and given only three months to live. However, he defied the doctors’ predictions and lived for four more years. He died at his home in France on September 3, 2019, aged 70.