All change for Olly Murphy as trainer ends Aidan Coleman retainer

Top jockey Aidan Coleman will no longer be retained by Olly Murphy after the pair agreed to loosen ties following talks, the trainer has said.

Coleman will continue to ride for Murphy but more opportunities will now go to title-chasing Sean Bowen.

Murphy appointed Coleman to be his number-one rider in October 2020 and the pair have enjoyed notable success, including with Brewin'upastorm in the 2021 National Spirit Hurdle, but they have decided to end their formal arrangement before the jumps season gets into full swing.

Coleman's high-profile commitments to riding star jumpers Jonbon, Epatante and Paisley Park was cited as one of the reasons for the split, but the trainer plans to still use the Grade 1-winning jockey.

"I spoke to Aidan last week and I emphasise there's been absolutely no falling out, he's riding out for me this week," Murphy said. "For me and my business, we felt having Aidan as my stable jockey going forward wasn't the right thing to do.

"We're not tying each other down. He rides for big connections at weekends and he openly says himself he's at the stage in his career that if he's going for one ride somewhere in an ordinary race he's looking for quality over quantity. I understand and respect that completely.

"I've got a lot of owners and a lot of horses, for my purposes it's not fair on them to not have Aidan 100 per cent of the time. It's not a parting of ways as such and I'm sure we'll be having winners together again before too long."

Brewin'upastorm: was one of the highest-profile winners for Olly Murphy and Aidan Coleman in last year's National Spirit HurdleCredit: Steve Davies

While Murphy will not employ a retained rider for the jumps season, Bowen is set to come in for more rides for the yard.

That is a boost for Bowen, who is Brian Hughes's closest competitor in the jockeys' title race having ridden 55 winners, 16 behind the reigning champion.

Bowen and Murphy enjoyed notable success last year when teaming up to win the Grade 2 Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury with Thomas Darby.

He added: "I'll use Sean plenty. I've got horses at all levels, from those rated between 0-100 and others hopefully all the way up to Grade 1 company. I just want that continuity.

"I'm not able to get as much of that as I like with Aidan with his other commitments. We both agreed it was the right thing to do for his career path as well as mine."

Murphy has saddled 17 winners this season and is looking forward to the winter campaign.

"We're 100 per cent excited now. We've got a super team of horses, some lovely young horses as well as some strong performers from last year," he said. "Thomas Darby and Brewin'upastorm are back, looking great and moving really well. We've got a really strong team and a good roster of jockeys, it's been a quiet summer so we're all looking forward to the winter months. It's exciting times."

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