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Telegraph
03-07-2025
- Telegraph
Drink, drugs and brawls – how Oisin Murphy's world came crashing down
The drink-drive charges were sent out by post on the same day Oisin Murphy was at Royal Ascot passing on life lessons to younger jockeys. 'Take the speed bumps along the way,' was his advice during a Q&A with Sporting Life in the parade ring just a fortnight ago. 'And keep kicking.' Getting back on the horse is how it had always been for Murphy, who regularly returned to world-beating flat-jockey form regardless of crises in his personal life. This time, in his darkest ordeal yet, he has taken that approach to extremes. He was riding within 36 hours of the car crash that left his girlfriend in hospital. His fifth winner at Royal Ascot last month would arrive the day after the prosecution summons landed on his doormat. Even as he arrived at Reading Magistrates' Court on Thursday, he was booked to fly out to ride in the Belmont Derby at Saratoga the following day. Whether or not Murphy gets on that plane, however, there will be no shaking off the grim repercussions of this case. Evidence heard in court – that his girlfriend was left with a debilitating spinal injury after his reckless actions in her Mercedes A-Class – leaves one of the brightest talents of his sport facing down the barrel of a ban and possibly jail. At Reading Magistrates' Court, Murphy pleaded guilty to drink driving, while his lawyer issued an apology for his 'grave error', as he was described as being 'just shy' of twice over the limit. Murphy was immediately fined £70,000 on the basis of his lucrative racing winnings and banned from driving for 20 months. After a boozy Saturday night dinner party, Murphy lost control of Amy Fenelon's car before ploughing into a tree in Hermitage, Berkshire. Fenelon, in the passenger seat, required several nights in hospital. Police moved quickly to pursue charges after Murphy refused to provide a sample when initially under arrest. The mood in racing is one of sadness rather than outright anger at Murphy, who has made no secret of his difficulties with drink. Riders are breathalysed in racing and Murphy had failed several in the past. He was given a 14-month ban on February 22 for breaking Covid rules and two alcohol breaches in 2022. 'When I was happy I would drink, when I was sad I would drink,' he had previously said. In 2022, he spoke of a fear blackouts over his boozing in the past could have ended his racing career. But it is now at 29 - after receiving extensive counselling - that he now faces potentially losing his racing licence while at the peak of his powers in the sport. He was pushing Ryan Moore for the title 'best jockey in the world' - in the saddle he is that good; he is strong, tactically astute, a good judge of pace and, at Royal Ascot, he was the only jockey to push Moore (seven winners) for the leading jockey title. His four jockeys' championships are one more than both Moore and Frankie Dettori who soon switched their focus from quantity to quality. In the winter of 2019-20 he rode a record number of winners for a foreign jockey in Japan and his first ride on dirt in America was a Breeders' Cup winner on a Japanese-trained horse. He is the consummate horseman, as comfortable riding in a sprint as a long-distance flat race as he is over a 1.35m fence on a showjumper or over an even bigger hedge out hunting in Leicestershire. But away from the sport, life has been fraught with challenges from the outset. Born prematurely and weighing just 2lbs 14oz on arrival, his first few weeks were spent in intensive care at Killarney hospital. 'I probably should have died,' he told Horsepower, the 2022 Amazon Prime documentary series based around Andrew Balding's Kingsclere yard and the jockey. 'By the age of four I was normal enough to go to school.' Too small and weak to be much good at any other sports he turned to ponies and, if he needed inspiration, he did not have to look too far; his uncle is Jim Culloty, the jump jockey who rode Best Mate to win three Gold Cups and Bindaree to win the Grand National. 'I wanted to ride every day,' he recalled of his Kerry childhood to Telegraph Sport once. 'But I wasn't big enough to reach up and tack the pony up on my own.' Ultimately, however, he would have been good enough to make a career out of showjumping. As a teenager he was on a couple of Irish teams and at one stage he had a string of 12 jumping ponies but in 2012 he went to ride out for Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle and it had the effect of flicking a switch; it was goodbye showjumping, hello racing. That coincided with the sale of his best pony and he elected to go down the racing route, although, in one enforced absence from the saddle, he spent a lot of time back in the showjumping ring. O'Brien does not do apprentices, however, so he moved to Kingsclere where the Baldings run an 'unofficial' apprentice academy. In June 2013 he rode his first winner, Imperial Glance. 'Andrew told me two weeks before he'd win the race,' he recalls of the ride. Apprentices come and go but he soon began to stand out and came to wider attention that September when he rode a four timer on Ayr Gold Cup day including the big race winner Highland Colori for Balding. The following season, 2014, he was champion apprentice. He was soon appointed second jockey to Andrea Atzeni for Sheikh Fahad Al Thani's Qatar Racing and when Atzeni went back to Roger Varian in 2016, Murphy was promoted. He has remained first jockey for the outfit ever since with his most notable winners coming on Roaring Lion and Kameko although Sheikh Fahad has a much-reduced number of horses now which allows Murphy to ride as first jockey to Balding. In 2019 he became champion jockey for the first time and followed it up in 2020, through the pandemic. However in the winter of 2020/21 came the first signal that it could all come crashing down. He had served a three-month ban after testing positive in France earlier in the year for a prohibited substance believed to be cocaine. It would normally have been twice as long but he successfully claimed it was a case of cross-contamination after having sex with a user. Murphy would bounce back. He was champion again in 2021 but before regaining his title in 2024 came a further series of controversies. In December 2021, not long after winning his third title, he announced he would be standing down with immediate effect after the British Horseracing Authority brought a number of charges against him; for misleading its investigators in two instances, failing to comply with the country's Covid rules, two failed alcohol tests and 'acting in a manner prejudicial to the integrity and good reputation of the sport'. One of his failed alcohol tests was at Newmarket in the autumn of 2021 after he had been involved in a pub brawl at The Yard in the town the night before. He was stood down for the day but, proving ice runs through his veins and that he is as effective in a tight spot as he is out of one, a day later gave Buzz a superb ride to win the Cesarewitch. His licence was returned to him after serving what was effectively a 14-month ban but with conditions attached, including 'the need for Mr Murphy to remain sober and avoid the use of illicit drugs.' Since he has been subjected to enhanced alcohol tests and providing hair samples for analysis at random times for the BHA and, voluntarily, he speaks to a therapist twice a week. He was also required to engage in regular contact with the BHA's chief medical adviser, Dr Jerry Hill. It is unclear if those exact conditions remain attached. In their statement at the time the BHA said: 'If any of the conditions are not met, the BHA reserves the right to seek the suspension or the withdrawal of his licence.' With that warning now coming back to haunt him, Murphy has more than just speed bumps to contend with: He may be running out of road.
Scottish Sun
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
‘I don't watch it' – Damon Heta slams Premier League Darts in brutal assessment and reveals two ways to improve it
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) DAMON HETA has delivered a brutal assessment of the Premier League and admitted he doesn't even watch it. The Aussie believes the current format has become far too repetitive and has lost its excitement. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Damon Heta slammed the Premier League and admitted he doesn't even watch it 2 Heta claims the Premier League is too repetitive with Luke Humphries and Luke Littler always facing each other World No1 Luke Humphries and World Champion Luke Littler have faced off seven times in this year's campaign. But Heta hasn't tuned in once this season and says he prefers to spend his Thursday nights on the practice board instead. He told Sporting Life: 'No I don't watch it. I haven't watched it this year. 'I see the results obviously they come up on social media all the time. 'But I didn't watch it. I might have watched a few games last year. 'I think it's too much. It's the same people in the match ups and then I'm seeing them every week at darts. 'I'm on the dartboard practicing when they're playing the thing. 'I mean you are getting those prestigious games but all the time so you're flooding the good darts. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'The Luke [Littler] vs Luke [Humphries] you're going to see them twenty plus times a year probably play each other. 'I'm not even sure how many times we have seen a Phil [Taylor] vs MvG [Michael van Gerwen] game. Fans sing along to Luke Littler's walk-on song as darts star shares footage from stage 'It just makes it more prestigious.' Aussie thrower Heta called for the return of relegation - a system scrapped after the 2021 season - to raise the stakes for struggling players. He revealed: 'I did like the relegation back in the day. I thought it was pretty good. 'Because the first half of the season they are playing to stay in it. 'And then the people probably towards the back end — when you've got a long season — if they're doing bad, you know they're probably not going to show up or put 100 percent in. 'B League' 'It's like, what are they playing for if they are not making the top four? 'I mean for £10,000 — but is that enough for them?' World Cup winner Heta even floated the idea of a potential 'B League' — giving more players a shot at proving themselves and earning promotion to the main Premier League stage. He added: 'Yeah I think that would be alright. Whether the B League plays behind closed doors to get to that stage. 'It gives that person — whoever wins the second league — that chance to prove themselves. 'I've done it for 17 weeks and now I've won it, then you get the promotion into the Premier League.'
The Irish Sun
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘I don't watch it' – Damon Heta slams Premier League Darts in brutal assessment and reveals two ways to improve it
DAMON HETA has delivered a brutal assessment of the Premier League and admitted he doesn't even watch it. The Aussie believes the current format has become far too repetitive and has lost its excitement. Advertisement 2 Damon Heta slammed the Premier League and admitted he doesn't even watch it 2 Heta claims the Premier League is too repetitive with Luke Humphries and Luke Littler always facing each other World No1 Luke Humphries and World Champion But He told Sporting Life: 'No I don't watch it. I haven't watched it this year. 'I see the results obviously they come up on social media all the time. Advertisement Read More on Darts 'But I didn't watch it. I might have watched a few games last year. 'I think it's too much. It's the same people in the match ups and then I'm seeing them every week at darts. 'I'm on the dartboard practicing when they're playing the thing. 'I mean you are getting those prestigious games but all the time so you're flooding the good darts. Advertisement Most read in Darts Exclusive CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'The Luke [Littler] vs Luke [ 'I'm not even sure how many times we have seen a Phil [Taylor] vs MvG [Michael van Gerwen] game. Fans sing along to Luke Littler's walk-on song as darts star shares footage from stage 'It just makes it more prestigious.' Advertisement Aussie thrower Heta called for the return of relegation - a system scrapped after the 2021 season - to raise the stakes for struggling players. He revealed: 'I did like the relegation back in the day. I thought it was pretty good. 'Because the first half of the season they are playing to stay in it. 'And then the people probably towards the back end — when you've got a long season — if they're doing bad, you know they're probably not going to show up or put 100 percent in. Advertisement 'B League' 'It's like, what are they playing for if they are not making the top four? 'I mean for £10,000 — but is that enough for them?' World Cup winner Heta even floated the idea of a potential 'B League' — giving more players a shot at proving themselves and earning promotion to the main Premier League stage. He added: 'Yeah I think that would be alright. Whether the B League plays behind closed doors to get to that stage. Advertisement 'It gives that person — whoever wins the second league — that chance to prove themselves. 'I've done it for 17 weeks and now I've won it, then you get the promotion into the Premier League.'
National Post
08-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
Cizzle Brands Announces Launch of CWENCH Hydration™ at Golf Town
Article content The launch of CWENCH Hydration™ at Golf Town, one of Canada's leading golf retailers, and at prestigious Canadian golf courses nationwide, along with its sponsorship of two prominent Canadian junior golf tours, positions the brand to be the premier sports drink for golfers in the country. Article content Article content TORONTO — Cizzle Brands Corporation (Cboe Canada: CZZL) (OTCQB: CZZLF) (Frankfurt: 8YF) (the 'Company' or 'Cizzle Brands'), is pleased to announce that Golf Town, known as Canada's golf superstore, is now carrying three of the original flavours of CWENCH Hydration™ (Blue Raspberry, Rainbow Swirl, and Berry Crush) in the hydration mix format at all 47 of its retail store locations, as well as on its website. Article content Golf Town is the latest Canadian specialty sporting goods retailer to begin carrying CWENCH Hydration™, joining Sport Chek, Source for Sports, and Pro Hockey Life as part of the Company's strategic rollout of CWENCH in the brand's first year on the market in North America. Article content Golf Town is part of the Sporting Life group of companies, a proudly Canadian owned and operated organization which is also the parent entity of Team Town Sports. Golf Town was founded in 1999, and has become one of Canada's leading golf retailers. Cizzle Brands will be providing sales support for Golf Town store personnel to help golfers of all ages and at all levels to elevate their hydration game. Article content The placement of CWENCH Hydration™ with Golf Town adds to the brand's presence in Canadian golf, a footprint that Cizzle Brands has been actively building out through grassroots initiatives that include becoming the Official Hydration Drink of the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (where every junior golfer participating in the 90 events nationwide will be provided with CWENCH) and the title sponsor of the MJT CWENCH Classic in August, as well as becoming the Official Hydration Drink of the Durham Junior Golf Tour. Article content The Company is also pleased to announce that CWENCH Hydration™ will be available at prestigious golf courses and country clubs across Canada, including the Toronto Golf Club, Piper's Heath Golf Club, Hamilton Golf and Country Club, and Magna Golf Club. Article content Cizzle Brands' Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer John Celenza commented, 'The CWENCH Hydration™ brand has been on the market for less than a year, and we have already built up an impressive footprint in the professional, collegiate, amateur, and youth levels of several sports… including hockey, basketball, volleyball, and golf. Being a game that's typically played outdoors in the sun, golfers know how important it is to stay hydrated as a key factor in both their enjoyment and overall performance. We're excited about building the CWENCH brand in the world of golf. Between launching the product in one of Canada's leading golf retailers, sponsoring two very well-known junior golf tours, and making the product available at prestigious courses and country clubs, we've taken a big step forward in doing so.' Article content Cizzle Brands Corporation is a sports nutrition company that is elevating the game in health and wellness. Through extensive collaboration and testing with leading athletes and trainers across several elite sports, Cizzle Brands has launched two leading product lines in the sports nutrition category: (i) CWENCH Hydration™, a better-for-you sports drink that is now carried in over 3,000 locations in Canada, the United States, and Europe; and (ii) Spoken Nutrition, a premium brand of athlete-grade nutraceuticals that carry the prestigious NSF Certified for Sport® qualification. All Cizzle Brands products are designed to help people achieve their best in both competitive sports and in living a healthy, vibrant, active lifestyle. Article content John Celenza, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer Article content This news release contains 'forward-looking information' which may include, but is not limited to, information with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, such as, but not limited to: new products of the Company and potential sales and distribution opportunities. Such forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words and phrases such as 'plans', 'expects', 'is expected', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'estimates', 'forecasts', 'intends', 'anticipates', or 'believes' or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will' be taken, occur or be achieved. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company. Article content Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other risk factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks include risks related to increased competition and current global financial conditions, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks, regulatory risks, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation, except as otherwise required by law, to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors change. Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Article content
Wales Online
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
Snooker stars call for World Championship rule change as Zhao Xintong wins title
Snooker stars call for World Championship rule change as Zhao Xintong wins title Zhao Xintong became the first Chinese player to win the World Snooker Championship, but several top stars believe the format of the tournament needs to be changed Zhao Xintong won his first world title on Monday (Image: Getty Images ) Snooker stars Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, and Barry Hawkins are demanding a radical overhaul of the World Championship format in the wake of Zhao Xintong's groundbreaking victory. Following a 20-month suspension, the Chinese star made a remarkable comeback to become his country's first-ever world champion, defeating Mark Williams 18-12 in the final. He came through four rounds of qualifying just to secure a place in the first round, playing 111 frames in total, but Murphy believes that the initial stage of the tournament should be scrapped completely. In an interview with Sporting Life, Murphy said: "I don't think it's ideal as it is. I think in any setup where everyone doesn't start in the same round is totally wrong. I think it's totally weird. "A tournament where I start in the fourth or fifth round against players who have four or five rounds behind me, I think it's weird. I think it makes a bit of a mockery of the tour to be totally honest. We need events where players all start in the same round." Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson have spoken in light of Zhao Xintong's victory (Image: PA ) Article continues below Robertson echoed Murphy's sentiments, suggesting that matches should be shorter and criticising the three-day span of semi-final matches, reports the Mirror. "The best out of 25 frames is a great match to play actually, I do like that," he said. "But I think first two rounds out of 19 and best out of 25 for the rest of the event. It's straightforward, it shortens things, you are going to see a better standard of play. "You see a much better standard in the other events, like the Masters, in the World Championship it does drag on a bit. I would love to see it shortened. Playing a semi-final over three days is crazy, I am not engaged in that." Content cannot be displayed without consent Speaking about match lengths, Selby, known for his prowess in extended games, supports the existing structure but concedes that fewer frames might be more fan-friendly. He said: "In a way, I hope that they don't change. But from a viewing point I get it as well. You could easily have first round, first to 10, last 16, first to 10, and then go quarters, 13, semis, 13, and have the final first to 15. You could easily do that. "Because some of the rounds where it's the last 16 or even the semis, you are playing over three days, I mean that is a long slog." Zhao Xintong won the title for the first time this week but some leading players have now called for a rule change (Image: Getty ) When a player reaches the semi-finals, they have only played half of the frames necessary to win the title, despite beating three opponents already to get to the final four and single-table setup. Article continues below Hawkins echoed the sentiment that earlier rounds could be completed sooner, but hailed the World Championship as a special competition that separates the good from the great across multiple sessions. He said: 'It's such a long, drawn out tournament. I suppose some of the matches don't need to be as long as they are, but at the same time that is what makes it so different. There is nothing else like it."
