Champion jockey charged with drink-driving after April car crash

Flat jockey Oisin Murphy has been charged with drink-driving and refusing a roadside breath test after a crash back in April

Oisin Murphy has been charged with drink-driving following a car collision in April (Getty Images for Ascot Racecours)

Oisin Murphy has been charged with one count of driving a motor vehicle while over the prescribed level of alcohol and one count of failing to cooperate with a preliminary test at the roadside after a collision on Sunday 27th April this year.

The four-time champion was among the winners at Royal Ascot last week, riding five across the five days of the meeting, during which he was charged by postal requisition on 19th June.

The 27th April collision involved a grey Mercedes A Class vehicle that crashed into a tree. It occurred near Hermitage, west Berkshire.

The 29-year-old had ridden a treble at Leicester the previous day but missed his four booked rides at Southwell on 27th April due to what the stewards’ report described as “travel issues.” He went on to ride two winners from five rides at Windsor on 28th April.

Last week’s Royal Ascot haul included a double on the day he was charged, Arabian Story in the Britannia Stakes and Never So Brave in the Buckingham Palace Stakes.

He goes into today’s Doncaster meeting with five booked rides and has six more booked on York’s big Saturday card.

Oisin Murphy riding Quai De Bethune on day five during Royal Ascot 2025 (Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse)

A statement issued on Thursday by the sport’s governing body, the British Horseracing Authority, said it “is aware of an update issued by Thames Valley police this afternoon regarding Mr Oisin Murphy. We are now seeking to gather as much information as possible in order to consider what, if any, implications there are as a result of this development.”

Murphy, who was previously banned from riding for 14 months for breaches of Covid and alcohol rules, will appear at Reading Magistrates’ Court next Thursday.