Murphy's plight typical of life for the squeezed middle

Colm Murphy epitomises the boom-to-bust cycle that has afflicted Irish jump racing.

During the country's fleeting economic uplift in the 2000s, Murphy was well placed to take advantage. A student of Aidan O'Brien's winner machine on Carriganog Hill, the accountancy graduate was young, skilled and ambitious.

His winners' graph climbed steeply from 2004 and few have produced so many Grade 1 stars from such a small pool.