Oisin Murphy has received a £70,000 fine and has been banned from driving for 20 months, a court has heard.
The Irish jockey was in Reading Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to hear the verdict following his accident earlier this year.
He pleaded guilty to one count of driving a vehicle while over the prescribed limit of alcohol.
Murphy conducted a breathaliser in the morning following the accident and was found to have 66mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system. This was described as “just below twice over the legal limit.”
The prosecution also stated that Murphy was on the phone with his cousin when the police arrived.
The district judge delivers his judgment
Judge Sam Goozee said: “On April 27 you were behind the wheel when the level of alcohol was nearly twice the legal limit.
“I must add that this is the assumed level of alcohol in your blood at the time of driving, but I note the amount of time between the accident and the test taking place.
“You have apologised for letting the public and your colleagues in the racing world down.
“Usually, with the aggravating factors in this case I would consider this to be serious enough for a community penalty. In this case, I believe this can instead be dealt with via a financial penalty.”
What happened?
Thames Valley Police announced last month that Murphy had been charged in connection with an ongoing investigation into a serious road traffic collision in Hermitage, West Berkshire.
Murphy crashed his grey Mercedes-Benz A-Class into a tree just after midnight on Sunday, April 27 which left a woman in hospital with severe injuries.
Murphy was arrested and later released on police bail. The incident occurred shortly after he rode a three-timer at Leicester on Saturday and he missed a book of rides at Southwell the day after.
Oisin Murphy to race in America on Friday
Murphy will race in the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes on Friday, jetting off to America to ride the favourite New Century in Saratoga for owners Qatar Racing.
The winner of the Grade 1 race will take home a lucrative €636,000.
It’s little surprise New Century is favourite, ahead of Luther (9/2) with horse racing betting sites.
Murphy rode New Century to victory in Woodbine, Canada last September just a month after winning in Salisbury.
He finished second at Ascot last July and also won at Doncaster.
Murphy has ridden more winners than any other jockey in the UK this year. He has a strike rate of 25% with 55 wins from 223 races.
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