Olly Murphy
Trainer
From his base in Warwickshire, Olly Murphy has firmly established himself as one of the premier NH trainers in Britain over the past few seasons. He enjoyed a career-best campaign in 2024/25, sending out 141 winners at a 25% strike-rate, and in doing so propelled stable jockey Sean Bowen to a maiden jump jockeys’ championship.
The son of Anabel and Aiden, dual-purpose trainer and Bloodstock Agent respectively, Murphy initially came to prominence during a four-year spell as assistant to Irish NH training giant Gordon Elliott. Murphy quickly developed into an integral cog in the wheel at Cullentra House Stables, making his mark during a successful period for the yard that saw Elliott cement his position as second only to Willie Mullins in the Irish jumping hierarchy and included Don Cossack’s win in the 2016 Gr.1 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Returning to Warwickshire in 2017, aged only 25, Murphy began to assemble his empire at Warren Chase Stables, a converted stud in the village of Wilmcote, near Stratford-upon-Avon.
Despite starting out with just 18 horses, he sent out a winner on the Flat with his first runner and was soon making a major impact over jumps. He had trained 47 winners by the end of his debut campaign in 2017/18 and nearly doubled that tally when sending out 82 winners during the following season. A slew of talented horses, such as the Gr.1 Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase winner Itchy Feet, Gr.1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle runner-up Thomas Darby and multiple Graded winner Brewin’upastorm, alerted the public to Olly’s talents early on in his training career.
He continued to train around 80 or 90 winners a year until breaching the century mark for the first time in 2023/24 and then recorded the astounding figures mentioned in the introduction during the most recent season. In addition to the increase in numbers, big race wins for the likes of Resplendent Grey, Booster Bob, Fingle Bridge and Strong Leader (the trainer’s second Gr.1 winner), allied to continued investment in high-quality bloodstock, suggest that the stable is well positioned to build on the recent success in the seasons to come.
Another great money-spinner for the trainer in recent seasons has been Deva Racing’s very own Space Voyage. The Kayf Tara mare has won a bumper, four times over hurdles, and twice over fences, and in doing so accumulated £80,000 in Great British Bonus Scheme bonuses thanks to the shrewd placement of her trainer.
Olly finished fifth in the NH trainers’ championship last season, with only Willie Mullins, Dan Skelton, Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson separating him from top spot. He posted the best strike-rate of any trainer in the top 50 of the standings and it is only a matter of time before he climbs the table even further.
