Murphy made the right call to remove himself from the mental battle of wasting

Timmy Murphy was one of the weighing room's most naturally gifted members. He was a great jockey who had a fantastic career but I completely understand why this week he decided to retire.

Towards the end of my own career I rode a bit against Timmy and never felt the job looked particularly difficult for him. His frame actually made him look more like a modern-day Flat jockey than a jump jockey, and whether taking part in a staying chase or a sprint handicap he always maintained a very tidy position on a horse.

Timmy was one of many who have followed the trend in recent years for jockeys to move from jumping to Flat racing. The most obvious example has been Jim Crowley, given he became Flat champion and now holds one of the sport's biggest jobs as retained rider to Sheikh Hamdan. However, there are clear differences between the cases of Jim and Timmy.