Oisin Murphy: chasing the title and staking claim to be the next face of racing

While awaiting a large bottle of sparkling water, Oisin Murphy's commitment to pre-interview small talk is briefly broken by what he sees on a television screen in The Pheasant. With a quiet voice he reports that Danny Tudhope has just ridden another winner. He has seen Tudhope do that regularly this season. Crucially, Tudhope has seen Murphy do it more.

The 23-year-old man sitting at the peak of the Flat jockeys' championship knows this place well. He comes here regularly with members of a close circle of Berkshire-based friends that includes fellow jockeys Rob Hornby, Charlie Bishop and Nicola Currie. Sometimes they eat in The Pheasant, on other nights at The Queens Arms. On occasions the base might be one of their houses. Wherever they are, there is a good chance at least some of them will be together, four young jockeys whose careers are going rather well. Murphy's career is going very well indeed.

The Killarney native has already been crowned a champion once, having topped the apprentice standings in 2014, propelled by enormous natural ability and the tutelage of Andrew Balding. Since 2016 he has been number one jockey to the Sheikh Fahad-led and David Redvers-managed Qatar Racing, for which he last year excelled, principally aboard quadruple Group 1 winner Roaring Lion, two of whose victories came in races sponsored by Qatar Racing's sister wing Qipco. Murphy did many amazing things in 2018 but one thing he wanted to achieve but did not was becoming champion jockey. He is on course to make swift amends.