‘He was literally on his knees’ – Oisin Murphy’s miracle ride at Windsor
OISIN MURPHY performed a miracle in the saddle to win on a horse who was ‘literally on his knees’ at Windsor.
The three-time champion jockey looked for all the world like he was about to fall off He’s Got Game in a Class 5 mile handicap on Monday night.
The Hugo Palmer-trained three-year-old gelding started the race 7-4 favourite.
But all hope looked gone when he collapsed out of the stalls, with Murphy being flung forward in the saddle.
He’s Got Games’ nose slid alond the grass and his legs buckled completely, with his entire weight centred on his knees.
He actually crawled for a few yards as the ten other runners burst out of the stalls.
Normally giving up crucial ground like that at the start of a mile race would signal doom – even if the jockey did manage to hang on.
But Murphy somehow kept hold of the horse, didn’t lose either iron and quickly got back into the plate.
The pair quickly found their stride and a furlong out were making good headway.
He’s Got Game was carried left by runner-up Global Asset with less than half a furlong to go but had plenty left in the tank to win it on the line.
Murphy, who is currently operating at a decent 22 per cent strike rate, and had another winner on the evening, was hailed for his amazing win.
Famed racing commentator Jim McGrath said: “Holy moly, that is some sit and a potential catastrophe avoided.”
Another viewer said: “The man can do no wrong. What a jockey.”
While one punter posted online: “Simply unbelievable.”
Murphy himself played it all down and said: “Sometimes you get lucky! He just took a bad step.
“But he’s quite a big horse and he was able to prop himself back up.
“It probably worked out well because I would have gone forward and perhaps run off the bend a little bit but instead it ended up being quite smooth.”
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