I AM delighted to say that I will be at Ascot today when Oisín Murphy is crowned champion jockey for the first time in England. This powerful and engaging talent is just the kind of icon racing needs and I hope he will be to the forefront of popularising the sport with a new and younger audience.

The path to this achievement has been peppered with an occasional hurdle, but none that the Kerry native has not managed to overcome with aplomb. Devoid of any ego, Oisín is a true professional, and the manner in which he conducts himself is an example to all aspiring riders.

In May 2017 I wrote in defence of Oisín when the ‘hurlers on the ditch’ were giving him a hard time following a winner he rode at Chepstow. Yes, he was getting criticism, and abuse, for winning a race, but he had been a little injudicious in doing so, easing his mount down and just managing to hold on.

Two days later he won the eighth Group 2 race in his young career on Blond Me, but it was still four months before his first Group 1 victory aboard Aclaim in France. Today he heads into Champions Day at Ascot with 13 Group 1s under his belt. Oisín has just turned 24, has many more great days ahead of him, and is another fine example of the quality riders produced consistently by our pony racing circuit.

Harness plan

Yesterday afternoon the Irish Harness Racing Association unveiled its strategic plan for 2020 to 2024. Newspaper deadlines meant that I could not stay for the main presentations, but next week our correspondent Dan Carlin will have full coverage of it, and the reaction of leading industry players.

A key word in that last sentence is industry, as there is a need for all stakeholders to understand the potential for harness racing. Some of the attendance yesterday included representatives from the Department of Agriculture and the veterinary profession, while it was great to meet the international department manager of Le TROT. This non-profit organisation, under the administrative supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of the Economy and Finance and the Home Office, is the parent company of harness racing.

I am delighted that The Irish Field has played a small part in getting the message about harness racing out to a greater audience. This is the start of a journey that has boundless possibilities, and all stakeholders in the sport need to put their weight and effort behind turning the Association’s aims into realities.