JOHN Murphy had success again recently as owner of Bertram Allen’s winning mount Classified at the five-star show in Geneva recently.

Probably better known for his accomplishments in racing these days, the early part of John’s life was spent in the show jumping ring.

John grew up surrounded by horses at his family’s Highfort House in Upton, Co Cork. Here he was exposed to a variety of disciplines including pointers, hunters and show jumpers, but it was the latter which really caught his eye. On leaving school in the late 70s he went to work for legendary trainer Iris Kellett.

After a year and a half with Kellett, he then travelled to the UK and began working for another legend, Harvey Smith in Yorkshire, riding his young horses, a time he describes as hugely educational.

“They were very fair people. It was tough work, it’s a tough life there but very interesting. Robert and Stephen (Harvey’s sons) were both in the yard at the time and they are both world-class riders so I learned so much there,” John explained.

“After a couple of years I came home and set up my own yard producing horses which went well. We were producing youngsters, competing on them and then selling them on.

John Murphy and Newbrook Flight competing at the RDS

“I got married to my wife Carolan in 1992 and I didn’t like to be on the road continuously as was necessary to produce young horses properly. We began doing more and more with the point-to-pointing and gradually phased out of the show jumpers here at home, but I continued to keep some horses with Francis Connors who I was in ponies with and who has remained a great friend, and Robert Splaine who lives down the road from me and is also a great friend.

“We generally buy a couple of young horses each year and also breed a couple just for fun. We never really have more than four show jumpers in training at a time as we try to keep it very select.”

International performers

This method of keeping just the chosen few in competition has worked very well.

In the late 90s, John owned Cabaret III (dam of five-star horse Lapuccino 2) and Parkmore Star, both of whom enjoyed plenty of top-level national success under Nadja Kapp (now Kapp-Hanley) who was a pupil at Highfort at the time.

He also owned Grange Mór and That’s For Sure, horses which Charles Daly and Francis Connors rode to Grand Prix success before they were sold on to compete internationally. Other horses under his ownership were multiple Grand Prix winners Heracross and the great Merlins Magic.

Fast forward to 2013 and John, together with Galway vet Philip McManus, jointly bred the now nine-year-old gelding Classified.

He then bought Philip’s share in the Je T’Aime Flamenco foal who is out of Larissa II (Libertino I).

Bertram Allen and John Murphy's home-bred Classified (ISH) won a five-star class at the Global Champions Tour in Paris \ Stefano Grasso LGCT

Francis Connors competed him as a five-year-old stallion and advised gelding him as he was quite boisterous.

When he was six, Philip Horgan took over the ride and the horse continued to improve with success in both Ireland and France. As a seven-year-old, Murphy sent Classified to Bertram Allen’s Ballywalter Stables in Germany. With Bertram on board, the pair began to hit the big time.

At their first five-star show together, the Global Champions Tour Show in Paris just last June, they won the Figaroscope Prize worth €25,600.

They then went on to secure another five-star win, this time at the prestigious CHI Geneva where they won the 1.50m speed just 24 hours after placing second in the 1.45m class and just last week, the gelding’s sale was announced to Stransky’s Mission Farm in Wellington.

The dam of Classified, Larissa II, is also the mother of Much Loved. By Luidam, this mare has just turned seven and has so far had much success in her age division. She looks to be a very exciting horse for the future.

“We also have a few young horses by Vigo D’Arsouilles and Tangelo amongst others.

“I love to follow Classified’s progress. It’s very exciting to have a horse which goes on and is progressive. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next year with his new owners Mission Farm in Wellington, Florida, and their rider, Spain’s Gonzalo Busca Roca.

“We are also really enjoying following Much Loved’s progress with Francis. She goes back into training in the next few weeks,” Murphy added.