Within hours of his plane touching down in Joburg, UK champion jockey Oisin Murphy was walking the course at Turffontein in blazing sunshine, checking out the condition of the turf ahead of his ride in the R6 million Betway Summer Cup over 2000m today.
Meticulous preparation makes for champions.
Greg Wood, racing writer for London's The Guardian, describes Murphy as "an intensely thoughtful and analytical rider, who assesses his own performances and the form of top-level and day-to-day racing in granular detail".
"Relentless attention to the detail and nuances of race-riding has been a hallmark of Murphy's career from an early stage."
For the 29-year-old Irishman, it was never going to be a case of dropping into South Africa to pick up the cheque for a publicity stunt.
He is indeed a star turn on the big day at the Big T but has expressed determination to do his utmost to win Joburg's premier race and repay the faith of people who brought him all the way from Britain just to spend a couple of minutes in the saddle of a filly called Frances Ethel.
Esta historia es de la edición November 30, 2024 de The Citizen.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 30, 2024 de The Citizen.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Heather's Boy prepares for Cape
FORM: UNBEATEN DE KOCK RUNNER TO CONFIRM HIS REPUTATION AHEAD OF CAPE GUINEAS
Courage wins the day for Atticus
IMPRESSIVE: LAIRD-TRAINED GELDING FIGHTS ON GAMELY TO CLAIM R6M BETWAY SUMMER CUP
PIRATES COME UNSTUCK
PREMIERSHIP: STELLENBOSCH PUT ABRUPT END TO BUCS' PERFECT START
Cut Bavuma some slack
Temba Bavuma has often been praised by coaches and teammates for his leadership abilities, but as a specialist batter the Proteas skipper must have been frustrated by his lengthy struggle to convert fifties into centuries.
Proteas keep growing as a unit
South Africa's batters are feeding well off each other as they start to find consistency at the highest level, according to Proteas coach Shukri Conrad, after they shone again in the dominant victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test in Durban which concluded on Saturday.
Wallabies far from finished product
Australia coach Joe Schmidt says his side are \"maybe\" not at the level yet to win the three Test series with the British & Irish Lions next year but they are ready to make it a \"contest\".
Proteas keep their heads up
With England having secured a 3-0 clean sweep in the T20 International series that concluded at the weekend, Proteas all-rounder Nondumiso Shangase says the national women's team are keeping their heads up as they prepare for a three-match ODI series against the tourists.
Bulls flex their muscles abroad
URC: DOWN CONNACHT AS SHARKS SINK THE STORMERS
Kane ruled out 'for the time being'
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane (right) has been ruled out \"for the time being\", with a hamstring tear, the club announced yesterday.
'Crazy' win thrills Arteta
London - Mikel Arteta (above) said Arsenal's \"crazy\" 5-2 win at West Ham has catapulted his team back into the Premier League title race.
