Murphy has been honest with himself - but his past lies merited a hefty penalty

It was not just what James O'Mahony said, it was the way he said it.

The chair of the BHA's independent disciplinary panel had presided over a hearing in which the reputation of British racing's three-time champion jockey had been battered following needless acts of self-harm. After hearing how Oisin Murphy delivered one lie after another, in the process putting his fellow jockeys and sport at risk, O'Mahony spoke with a voice filled with incredulity and disappointment. None of this should ever have happened.

"That's all you had to do," said an almost exasperated O'Mahony as he told Murphy that on returning from Mykonos in September 2020 he ought to have self-isolated for 14 days. The young man in a dark suit sitting opposite him had known when he flew to Greece that the country was on the UK government's red list. He lied about his whereabouts while on holiday and then for eight months thereafter.