William Buick odds-on to land his first Flat jockeys' crown after Murphy ban

William Buick, who has finished runner-up in the Flat jockeys' championship for the last two years, has been inserted as 1-2 favourite for the 2022 title by Paddy Power in the wake of Oisin Murphy's 14-month ban.

With three-time champion Murphy unable to defend his crown, Buick assumes the role of market leader ahead of Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle, who are priced at 5-2 and 11-2 respectively.

Buick is still waiting for his first champion jockeys' title but could yet be crowned the 2020 champion as it was pointed out by the BHA's barrister that Murphy rode 11 winners during the time he should have been self-isolating. Murphy beat Buick by eight winners that year.

Buick went even closer last year when beaten by just two winners after a titanic tussle with Murphy, who said the pressures of the title race contributed to his reliance on alcohol as a coping mechanism.

At 8-1 David Probert is the only other contender at a single-figure price, with the jockey likely to pick up plenty of rides for Andrew Balding with Murphy unavailable.

Cieren Fallon, who is second jockey to Murphy at Qatar Racing, is a 33-1 shot, while previous champions Silvestre de Sousa, Jim Crowley and Ryan Moore are priced at 33-1, 50-1 and 66-1 respectively. Frankie Dettori can be backed at 100-1.

2022 Flat Jockeys' championship

Paddy Power: 1-2 William Buick, 5-2 Tom Marquand, 11-2 Hollie Doyle, 8 David Probert, 20 Ben Curtis, James Doyle, 33 bar

Read more on Oisin Murphy:

Oisin Murphy banned from riding for 14 months after Covid and alcohol breaches

Oisin Murphy's rise and fall: from boy wonder to Classic winner to being 'out of control'

BHA pledges to support Oisin Murphy in jockey's bid for rehabilitation

Lee Mottershead: Murphy has been honest with himself - but his past lies merited a hefty penalty (Members' Club)

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