Johnny Murtagh Returns To Saudi Arabia With Fresh Hopes For Success
At 0h18, on February 25, 2022 • By NEWSROOM
Sandwiched between his stints as number one jockey for the powerful John Oxx and Aidan O’Brien stables in Ireland, Johnny Murtagh was so often the ‘go to’ name in the jockey ranks on a global stage.
Murtagh officially retired from the saddle in 2014 to concentrate on his training career and last year signalled a breakthrough year for him with Classic success in the Irish St Leger at The Curragh.
That victory of Sonnyboyliston (IRE) helped Murtagh break into the top five trainers in Ireland in terms of prize money and now the Curragh-based handler is hoping that the improving five-year-old can springboard him back to the big time once again.
Murtagh made his mark on multiple occasions in Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Dubai, America and in the United Kingdom as well as his native Ireland as a rider and has made no secret of being similarly ambitious to succeed as a trainer.
“I rode in Saudi Arabia many years ago and while I haven’t seen the grass track, it’s an absolutely beautiful dirt track there and a brilliant spot for the horses,” Murtagh said prior to his arrival in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s great to have horses rated high enough to get into these types of races for this type of prize-money and it’s a new experience for us but we want to be competing on the world stage.”
“We’ll see how Saturday goes but Sonnyboyliston is a horse that will travel because there are plenty of races for him,” Murtagh says. “We had a great end to the season with him last year but he has done really well over the winter and he definitely strengthened up on his break and looks strong.
“Saturday will be his first run of the season obviously but we brought him to Leopardstown racecourse for a gallop a couple of weeks ago and we were happy with that. I think he is pretty fit and we are looking forward to the weekend.”
