IN HIS darker moments, Johnny Murtagh will admit to empathising with great jockeys driven to suicide by weight worries. Yesterday, wrapped up against a wintry morning on the Curragh, his mood was contrastingly positive as he surveyed the diversion in his career that now seems sure to lead him to an unforeseen debut at the Cheltenham Festival.
Murtagh has won the Derby three times in six years and ranks among the finest Flat riders in the world, but he is a big-boned man and the disciplines of his lifestyle have often been brutal. More than once, he has taken extended breaks from riding to stabilise his weight and he acknowledges the depression that has periodically descended.
“Fred Archer was one of England’s greatest jockeys but he shot himself and I think I know why,” he said. “There are times when it drives you that insane . . . it wrecks your head and you just might do something stupid.”
After a turbulent Flat season, when Derby victory on Motivator was followed by further problems with his weight and a split with his main trainer, James Fanshawe, Murtagh acted on a whim and joined the jumps circuit. He knew that it would be condemned as risky and eccentric but, beyond all expectations, he is now set to ride one of the favourites in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle.
Golden Cross, third behind Brave Inca in the AIG Europe Hurdle on Sunday, was committed to the stayers’ championship yesterday by Mick Halford, his trainer. He is ready for the step up in trip and Ladbrokes quote him at 7-1 behind the 9-2 favourite, Baracouda, with Rhinestone Cowboy 5-1 ahead of an intended comeback run at Haydock on February 18.
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Murtagh, who flies to Dubai tomorrow for six weeks, will commute for a day to ride Golden Cross in the Boyne Hurdle at Navan on February 19 then return for his first sight of the greatest jumps meeting in the world. “I’ve never been to Cheltenham, even as a spectator,” he said. “The lads tell me it’s the ultimate, just like the Derby for Flat jockeys, and I’ve got more excited about it as time has gone on. It would be nice to sit with my grandchildren and tell them I rode a winner at Cheltenham.”
Murtagh has seldom seemed so content. Keenly anticipating his Dubai sojourn with his wife, Orla, and their five children, he explains how his outlook has been lightened by mixing with the singular breed of jump jockeys. “They’re great men, and a lot more easy going than the Flat boys. It’s a tough game but nothing upsets them, they just take it all in. They have a different mindset — you wouldn’t want to examine it,” he said, shaking his head and smiling.
“It was a big decision for me to go jumping, and people say I’m mad. But it’s something I wanted to do and I won’t be riding for ever. It started when I won the Leopardstown November Handicap on Golden Cross. The owner asked if I might ride him over hurdles and I said I would.
“I’d tried jumping a few years back but I was ringing up for the ones no one else wanted to ride. This time, my agent said he’d only put me on nice horses that jump well. It’s worked out great — three winners, loads of placed horses and I’ve really enjoyed it. I even thought of riding in a chase over Christmas but my agent said he wouldn’t put me up on Arkle.”
Unsurprisingly, he has found demanding differences between the codes. “I thought if I jumped the last upsides, I’d surely ride the boots off them. Then I got beat in three photo-finishes and I knew it wasn’t as easy as it looked.
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“I’ve learnt that I need to be patient, because the races are run more slowly than on the Flat. At Christmas, I was kicking on too soon and getting beaten when I thought I had races won. Three times it happened, and when I bumped into Norman Williamson he said ‘Have they moved the winning post at Leopardstown?’” Out of this sabbatical, he feels stronger as well as happier — hopefully more able to cope when the pressures of keeping poundage off return in the spring. For the coming Flat season, he will be first jockey to Halford’s 80-strong stable in Ireland, and to Amanda Perrett in England. Beyond that, he is a free agent.
“There’s some uncertainty but I’m sure something will crop up. My priority is to be available, to be fit and well. People know my record and capabilities and I feel positive at the moment.” As he moved away, he called back: “See you at Cheltenham . . . and Ascot.”