15 Facts About Johnny Murtagh

Johnny Murtagh was the Irish flat racing Champion Jockey five times.

Johnny Murtagh was a keen amateur boxer as a young boy and was once the Irish boy's under-14 boxing champion.

Johnny Murtagh came close to joining Blackburn Rovers' youth football team.

At a boxing fight one evening in his native County Meath, a spectator advised his mother that Murtagh had the attributes to make a good jockey, balance, poise, weight, strength, courage.

Johnny Murtagh's mother wrote to the Racing Academy and Centre of Education in County Kildare, a school for apprentice jockeys, and got a two-week trial for her son.

Johnny Murtagh was one of 26 successful candidates who progressed onto the RACE 10-month course.

Johnny Murtagh rode his first winner, Chicago Style, at Limerick in 1987.

Johnny Murtagh became stable jockey to Oxx in 1992, and from then until his departure in 2003, rode 18 Group 1 winners for Oxx's leading owner, the Aga Khan.

For Oxx, Johnny Murtagh rode Sinndar to win The Derby and Irish Derby, as well as the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 2000.

Johnny Murtagh won the Derby again on the Michael Bell trained Motivator.

Johnny Murtagh was the regular jockey for talented filly Soviet Song.

Johnny Murtagh had been riding for them on an ad-hoc basis since 2002, most notably winning the Derby on High Chaparral in 2002.

Johnny Murtagh resigned his post as stable jockey to Coolmore in November 2010, issuing a statement via his agent to say he had informed Coolmore he wouldn't be renewing his contract.

In February 2014, Johnny Murtagh announced that he would retire from riding to concentrate on his training career.

Johnny Murtagh is married to Orla, daughter of famous Tipperary hurler Michael "Babs" Keating, and has five children, Caroline, Charles, Lauren, Grace and Tom.