Oisin Murphy returns to track day after drink-driving court appearance
The talented Kerry jockey was handed a £70,000 fine and a 20-month driving ban after pleading guilty to one count of driving a motor vehicle while over the prescribed limit of alcohol.
A little over 24 hours later, Murphy was stateside for the lucrative Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes. Riding 7/4 favourite New Century, Murphy finished sixth place in a seven-strong field.
The top prize for the race was a whopping $472,500, with second getting $150k. A fourth-place finish still would have nabbed over $50,000.
Murphy released a statement shortly after his guilty plea where he offered 'no excuse' for his actions.
'I would like to sincerely apologise for my actions. I know that drink driving is unacceptable and there is no excuse for what I did.
'I have let a lot of people down. I particularly want to apologise to my passenger and her family," he said in his statement.
Trainer Andrew Balding has said he will offer Murphy 'all the help and support' he can following the incident.
Balding, who has a long and successful association with Murphy, enjoyed a Friday treble at Sandown, from where he told Racing TV: 'He'd made them (details of the case) known in advance, but obviously we were hoping that what we were hearing was accurate and that was the case.
'Obviously it's not an ideal situation for him or for us or for anyone really, but I really hope that we can take this as a point to move forward and I know he'll be working closely with the BHA and we'll be giving him all the help and support we can to try to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.
"Everyone makes mistakes, but I think as long as there's an intent to improve going forward, we're all behind him."
The multiple champion jockey admitted driving a car while drunk and crashing into a tree earlier this year.
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