OISIN Murphy is riding out of his skin. The three-time champion jockey has had his well-publicised issues in the last few years, but while the possibility was always there that his huge natural talent might be dissipated, the chastening lessons of that period have seen the rider emerge with new focus and it has shown in his riding of late.

Determined to regain a crown lost to old rival William Buick, Murphy is happy to eschew the glamour rides in order to maximise his winning opportunities, as evidenced by a treble at Bath earlier in the week for Mick Appleby, Denis Coakley and Chris Dwyer.

He was at it again on Thursday, travelling to Epsom’s evening meeting for four rides and emerging with three winners again, with winners for old allies John (and Thady) Gosden and Andrew Balding as well as one for local handler Adam West.

That win came on Hello Cotai, still a maiden when Murphy threw his leg over the saddle and beaten favourite on three of his last four starts. That didn’t stop punters piling in at 6/4 and Oisin rode like his life depended on it, making a difficult ride look straightforward.

On Friday, Murphy could have ridden the odds-on favourite in the day’s most prestigious contest, the Glasgow Stakes at Hamilton (which won), but he chose instead to go to Newmarket for a full book, aiming to increase his lead in the Jockeys’ Championship.

More rides

Since the start of the season proper 11 weeks ago, Murphy has ridden 80 winners in Britain, 28 more than Buick. He’s also had exactly 100 more rides, and remains the punters’ pal, with those winners ensuring backers of all his mounts are in profit to the tune of £893.10 to a tenner at Betfair SP.

The busiest jockeys don’t tend to be the most profitable to follow, but not only has Murphy ridden more horses in Britain than any other jockey since the Guineas heralded the start of the QIPCO-sponsored season, but of all jockeys to have had 20 or more rides in Britain this term, he has the highest winning strike-rate of 23.12%.

He had ridden 23 of his total winners for his friend and mentor Andrew Balding, but the other 57 are split between 36 different trainers, which demonstrates his commitment to finding those winners, as does the fact that over a quarter of his total winners have come in low-grade handicaps, a long way from the champagne lifestyle associated with a champion jockey.

The last few years have been turbulent for Oisin Murphy, and his trials and tribulations could easily have derailed his career, but the volatility of his early years has given way to a determination and focus more in keeping with a master of his art, and it will be a surprise if he doesn’t win back his championship with some authority. It’s good to see.

Aberama Gold and Andrea Atzeni with trainer David O'Meara after winning the Stewards' Cup at Goodwood \ Healy Racing

DAVID O’Meara’s is always a stable to be interested in come the big summer fixtures, and with Goodwood and York just around the corner, I’ve got a few from the yard that I’ve put in the notebook for some of those valuable handicaps which he tends to farm, and often with big-priced horses to boot.

It’s now 14 years since O’Meara first started training. He trained his first group winner in just his second season and success has come regularly since, with stable favourites including the globetrotting pair Mondialiste and Lord Glitters and evergreen handicapper Summerghand and enjoyed big handicap success at Goodwood with Orbaan and Aberama Gold.

First on the list is Mirsky, who has yet to win in three starts since joining O’Meara but caught the eye on stable debut when a running on fifth in the Thirsk Hunt Cup off a BHA mark of 98.

Prior to that Mirsky had won four times in France, including twice in 2023 over a mile on good ground for Victoria Head. He was well held in the Royal Hunt Cup last time but ridden by Maxime Guyon, he raced with one other on the far side of the track and shaped better than the bare result, and he was over a dozen lengths ahead of Thunderball, with whom he raced in the early stages. He wasn’t persevered with when held and still finished in the first half of the field.

Mirsky probably needs a mile on a sound surface to be seen at his best. O’Meara has entered him in the Golden Mile and the Clipper Stakes at York next month and while he’s as big as 66/1 for the former, he is one to monitor closely having dropped to a mark of 94, which looks very fair on his French form.

Darkness is another for the notebook for all he’s a lot more exposed and the six-year-old is a bit of a law unto himself. A winner at Newmarket (seven furlongs) in June, he fared much the best of those to race on the far side of the track in the Bunbury Cup last weekend despite stumbling when first making his effort; he is lower in the weights than when a good fourth in the Golden Mile last year, a run which came on ground softer than ideal.

He’s not certain to make the cut for the Golden Mile from a mark of 91, but he’s clearly back in very good heart and would be of significant interest if he did slip in (currently 36th in the list).

The Bunbury Cup was his first defeat in three runs on the July Course at Newmarket, so a return visit would be in order if he misses out at Goodwood. Epic Poet is another who was in action last weekend, finishing three and a quarter lengths fifth of 20 to Enfjaar in the John Smith’s Cup at York, but he will be of more interest when going back up in trip, with the Ebor likely to be on his agenda next month.

Acquired from Martyn Meade before the start of the season, Epic Poet produced a career-best effort when staying on strongly from too far back in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Largely campaigned at a mile and a quarter for Martyn and Freddie Meade, the step up to a mile and a half seemed to really suit him at Ascot, and it was the drop back to an extended 10 furlongs which caught him out at York, although he came through from an impossible position to pass plenty of horses in the straight having initially struggled to get a run; it’s hard to deny that a step up to the Ebor trip could be the making of him on the evidence of this run. He’s totally unexposed at a mile and a half plus.