Betfair Official Blog

Trainer In Profile: Colm Murphy

Wayne Bailey tells you when to consider the horses from the yard that gave us Brave Inca...

Considering his success so far, it's hard to believe that Colm Murphy has only held a training licence since the early part of this century. He learned his trade with the maestro Aidan O'Brien, but broke ranks when Ballydoyle decided to concentrate almost entirely on the flat. His story is a very interesting one, and it is well worth reading Horse Racing Ireland's short profile here.

One of my favourite horses of all time is Brave Inca, so when a reader asked me to break down Colm Murphy's record, I was more than glad to do so. Out of all the articles I've wrote for this site, the trainer profiles have proven by far the most popular, so as ever, thanks for the feedback.

On a cautionary note, I must state that in these articles, I'm NOT advising you to blindly back the horses when they meet certain conditions. Rather, use the information as a pointer, an extra variable in your armoury against the layer.

So then, speaking of pointers, here's a few I've noticed regarding Murphy...

(All data is from 2003 to the present)

Country

Note that if you are following Murphy, most of his races take place in Ireland, where he has had 88 winners from 708 races since 2003. In that space, he's had three winners in the UK from nine races - namely Brave Inca (twice), and Feathard Lady.

Tracks

If you see a Colm Murphy horse entered at Punchestown or Tipperary, take notes. Collectively, he's had 21 winners from 106 races at those tracks, and shows a profit of £580 to £10 stakes.

Jockeys

Murphy uses a number of Jockeys, but the three that have stood out are Barry Cash (eight wins from 24 races), Davy Russell (15 wins from 47 races) and of course, one Ruby Walsh (six wins from 16 races). Had you stuck a tenner on each horse when one of the above was on board, you'd be £440 better off today.

Odds

Irish punters know a good Murphy horse when they see it, and when his horses are supported, the have a great record. Indeed, horses priced [3.5] or less have a win rate of over 50%, and show a profit of £260 to £10 stakes. When his horses have gone off as favourite, they won 44% of races, and showed a similar profit to £10 stakes.

Runners

The usual no-brainer, but his horses perform much better in smaller fields. In races where there are seven runners or less, Murphy has a win rate of 46%, and shows a profit of nearly £300 to £10 stakes.

Again, I'm not saying you should blindly follow any horse or trainer, but hopefully the above stats can add another couple of strings to your bow in the eternal battle of backer and layer.

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As usual, we welcome comments on articles, good or bad. If you've any thoughts on the above, please post below.