Murphy banned for over a year by BHA

Champion jockey Oisin Murphy has been banned for 11 months after admitting to breaking rules covering Covid-19, misleading the British Horseracing Authority and prejudicial conduct and must serve an additional 100 days for two alcohol breaches.

The rider faced five charges, two relating to failed tests for alcohol in May and October last year and separate counts of misleading the authority as to his whereabouts and accessing a racecourse in breach of Covid-19 restrictions - both in September 2020 - and to conduct prejudicial to the good reputation of the sport.

Murphy temporarily relinquished his licence when the charges were announced as he sought professional help, so his suspension will be backdated to 8 December.

The 26-year-old, who was also fined a total around €35,000, admitted all five charges brought against him by the BHA.

The panel, chaired by His Honour James O'Mahony who was along side Rachel Spearing and Anthony Connell, heard the BHA's case first, put forward by Charlotte Davison.

She outlined a timeline of events from when Murphy went on holiday on 9 September, 2020 to 19 September.

Murphy had gone to the Greek island of Mykonos, which was on the Covid red-list at the time, but he had attempted to convince officials he had been at Lake Como.

Murphy subsequently failed two breath tests for alcohol last year, on 5 May at Chester and 8 October at Newmarket - his second and third breaches within the allotted time period to trigger a lengthy ban.

The three-times champion will be ineligible to reapply for his licence until 16 February, 2023