Personality: Murphy has a lovely nature. He’s about as easy going and laid back as it gets, almost always totally calm and composed no matter the situation. He’s almost totally bombproof with only the really big surprises spooking him and even then he’s not the type to bolt or madly buck his rider off in response. He’s a real gentleman: not too excitable and really easy to control. He’s honest enough to do whatever is asked of him by his jockey although it’s not always a guarantee that he’ll give his all. Murphy is perhaps sometimes a little too laid back to the point of being lazy but generally he’s fine with a little encouragement. The only time it’s a real problem is when he’s in a grumpy mood and then he becomes far more stubborn about being lazy and much harder to get to do anything. He enjoys race day enough though that we’ve never had a problem with him at an actual race. The only time you’ll see Murphy get really excited is around feed time – this horse is totally motivated by food – and he seems to bond particularly with those who are tasked with feeding him. Not being fed when he feels he should be is a sure-fire way to put him in a foul mood although most of the time he’ll quickly forget about it once he’s actually eaten. He’s not likely to be aggressive towards other horses he’s just generally uninterested with them for the most part with the odd exception when he’s in a particularly bad mood. When it comes to people though Murphy wouldn’t hurt a fly regardless of his mood, the most he’ll do when especially grumpy is just to ignore them. His love for food makes his mood swings easier to handle as only the worst of his moods can’t be won over with a treat. Racing Style: Stalker It is on race day that Murphy is most easily motivated, whilst he can be moody at times when running his workouts it has never been an issue when running an actual race which he seems to genuinely enjoy. It’s when he works his hardest too and runs his fastest, his workouts are never really an accurate reflection of how this horse runs at his best. He doesn’t act noticeably different on race day, still a total professional just with an extra layer of focus, it is when he gets to run that you really notice the difference. He always loads easily into the gate and breaks well, settling in just behind the leader where he likes to run. If somehow Murphy ends up stuck in the mid pack then he will sometimes lose his focus and get too comfortable. He listens really well when his jockey tells him to do something and he will give his all doing it. He waits until his jockey gives him the go-ahead to make his move and its then in the final stretch that he really comes alive and unleashes his impressive reserves and streaks towards the lead. You’d think he was unconcerned with winning if not for how he runs on race day and especially how he runs in the final stretch.
Racing Record: 1-1-0-0 Current Season 1st in Sneak Attack Maiden (11F/T) Mar Wk 4