Farewell to a Festival friend
Ferdy Murphy 1948-2019
F ERDY MURPHY was a trainer of rare ability who really understood how to train a winner at The Festival TM presented by Magners – and knew how to celebrate one too. The County Wexford-born trainer, who died in September at the age of 70, sent out a dozen winners at The Festival, although only ten of those bear his name on the roll of honour. As unofficial private trainer to Bill Durkan he trained the 1980 Arkle Chase winner Anaglogs Daughter and then did the same for Geoff Hubbard, saddling Gee-A to win the 1987 Mildmay of Flete Chase. However, his best moments came with horses trained in his own name from his North Yorkshire base: Paddy’s Return landed the Triumph Hurdle in 1996, soon after Murphy took out his own licence, the ill-fated French Holly was a brilliant winner of the 1998 Royal & SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle and Truckers Tavern beat all bar Best Mate in the 2003 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Murphy had been apprenticed to Phonsie O’Brien in Tipperary and rode more than 100 winners as a jockey, many for Paddy Mullins, father of Ireland’s champion trainer Willie Mullins. As head lad to Mullins he was instrumental in preparing the mare Hurry Harriet to upset Allez France in the 1973 Champion Stakes. After those successful spells training for
Hubbard, a businessman turned permit-holder, in Suffolk, he was granted a licence in 1990 and started to receive official credit for his winners. His first, Sibton Abbey, went on to land the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury in 1992 at 40-1, beating that season’s Gold Cup winner Jodami. Murphy set up as a public trainer in 1994 – first at West Buckland in Somerset, then at Middleham, before making the short hop to Wynbury stables at West Witton in 1997. His next move, after the 2013-14 season, was rather more adventurous as he relocated to northern France. “He was a great guy to ride for and a great trainer,” Graham Lee, who won Festival races for Murphy on L’Antartique and Divers, said. “If you gave one a bad ride and came in and said sorry he’d say, ‘You didn’t do it on purpose and you’ll learn for the next day’. He always instilled confidence in you.” Summing up his father, Paul Murphy said: “Professionally, he was a genius; personally, he was my hero. He wasn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve. He had a four-year battle with cancer but that was after he’d initially been given three weeks to live. That just shows you what a strong man he was.”
Durkan at Sandyford, County Dublin, and
Ferdy’s Festival winners (including as unofficial trainer)
Anaglogs Daughter (for Bill Durkan) 1980 Arkle Chase Gee-A (for Geoff Hubbard) 1987 Mildmay of Flete Chase Stop The Waller 1996 Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Chase Paddy’s Return 1996 Triumph Hurdle ( right ) French Holly 1998 Royal & SunAlliance Novices’ Hurdle You’re Special 2006 Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Chase
Hot Weld 2006 National Hunt Chase Joes Edge 2007 William Hill Trophy Chase L’Antartique 2007 Jewson Novices’ Chase Naiad Du Misselot 2008 Coral Cup Poker De Sivola 2010 National Hunt Chase Divers 2011 Centenary Novices’ Chase
March 2020 The Festival 33
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