Fresh from his maiden British Classic success at the weekend, Champion Jockey Oisín Murphy joined OTB AM where he spoke about his time riding in Japan.
Murphy guided Kameko to victory at an eerie Newmarket racecourse on Saturday as he claimed his first 2000 Guineas winner at the deserted headquarters of UK flat racing.
Success has been fairly constant for the Kerry jockey, who added his Champion Jockey title to his Champion Apprentice title from 2014.
Kameko carried the colours of his retainer Sheikh Fahad al Thani of Qatar Racing and was trained by Andrew Balding to whom Murphy was apprenticed.
"Horse Racing in Japan is their #1 sport - it is on another level" | 🇯🇵
Ireland's @oismurphy discussed on #OTBAM his experience of racing - and winning - in Japan | 🏇
Full Interview ➡️ https://t.co/eb8IKAth4n pic.twitter.com/auHLHJ4B7J— Off The Ball (@offtheball) June 9, 2020
As well as the success in Europe, Murphy has had international success far beyond where many jockeys will ever get to set foot.
Oisín Murphy spent the last two winters riding in Japan where only a handful of international riders are allocated licences on a merit-based system.
Despite the obvious language barrier, the Champion Jockey has nothing but affection for the Land of the Rising Sun.
"Japan is a brilliant country," according to Murphy, "The people are very kind, but many of them don't speak English so I'm very on my own there."
"Horse racing in Japan is their number one sport, the betting turnover there is 1000 times more than it would be in Europe, and that is not an exaggeration."
"Their prize money is the highest in the world, their breeding industry is the best in the world because they buy all the best broodmares from Ireland, England and France and cross them with the stallions they have there."
Big in Japan
The reason for the significant betting turnover is due to significant restrictions on what sports can be wagered on.
"Japanese people are only allowed to bet on three sports - boat racing, indoor cycling and horse racing."
Horse racing in Japan is different from the rest of the world, and according to Murphy, very much for the better.
"JRA (Japanese Racing Authority) is twice a week, just Saturday and Sunday primarily, 12 races a day, maybe two or three meetings.
"You're going to watch horse racing because everyone is talking about it. It is advertised everywhere.
"I won the Japan Cup on Suave Richard. There are seven horse racing newspapers, so imagine seven Racing Posts printed daily. It's just on another level out there.
"It was my ambition since 2012 to get there, I never thought I would because they only take five foreign jockeys at any one time and they do it on World rankings.
"Last year they had the top five jockeys in the world on rankings, so it's a pretty tough place to get to, but I adore it.
"I get to ride the best horses there, the opportunities I receive in Japan are just incredible.
"I rode seven winners on one day, I broke the record for the number of winners in a month, but I was riding the best horses."
