Oisin Murphy will donate £25,000 to the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) and an equal amount to Racing Welfare, if he keeps his place at the top of the World Pool Jockeys' Championship, which ends at Ascot on QIPCO British Champions Day on Saturday.
The four-time champion jockey holds a considerable 54.55-point lead over Kieran Shoemark, meaning Shoemark would have to ride a winner at World Pool odds of 54.60 and Murphy draw a blank to be passed. Back in third is the now Hong Kong-based Richard Kingscote, while David Egan is 67.80 points adrift in fourth. Ryan Moore, currently sidelined through injury, sits fifth.
Murphy said, “I can't thank World Pool enough. It's an amazing initiative and I've been so pleased to see myself climbing to the top of the leaderboard and then stay there over the last few months.
“It's a huge amount of money, and I'd like to split it between two charities. Firstly, the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA), which touches me because a very close family friend of ours is suffering with it at the moment, and Racing Welfare, who do so much for our industry.
“This has been a particularly sad week for all at Racing Welfare and in our industry, as we were shocked to hear of the death of Nicki Strong, who headed Racing Welfare's communications and marketing, and all our thoughts are with her colleagues, friends and family at this very difficult time.”
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