'One of the best' - Ambitious Yorkshire-based Bond Thoroughbred sign up former champion jockey

The former champion jockey, 31, has signed a retained deal with the rapidly-expanding operation, starting next year, and will partner the best of their runners across the UK, France and Ireland where possible.

The link-up comes hot on the heels of Murphy and Qatar Racing announcing the end of their long-standing partnership owing to the reduction in the number of their horses in training in the UK.

If Qatar Racing are shrinking their presence, Bond are moving in the opposite direction, with Charlie Bond, chief executive of Bond International tyre group, overseeing a huge increase in spending in 2026.

And with the Bond Thoroughbred operation – based at Pocklington, East Yorkshire – spending big at the yearling sales this autumn, 2027 could be a breakthrough year for the black and yellow silks made famous first by Charlie’s late father, Reg.

“Signing Oisin, who is one of the best in the world, is important to show what we are trying to achieve. We have a lot good home-bred mares now with top-quality pedigrees so it is not just about here and now it is about the future,” said Bond.

“He sees what we are trying to achieve and around the corner we’ve got the Maranoa Charlie’s (their Group One winner now standing at Tally-Ho Stud in Ireland) coming through the sales.

“Oisin can see the overall project in what Bond Thoroughbred is trying to achieve. It is exciting he saw the vision of what we are trying to achieve and wanted to be a part of it.”

Bond, who signed for 18 beautifully-bred yearlings at the sales this autumn including five Wootton Bassetts (four colts and a filly), two Frankel fillies and others by Study Of Man, Night Of Thunder and Sioux Nation, reported the numbers are growing in every department.

With Christopher Head in France, Paddy Twomey in Ireland and Andrew Balding in England handling the bulk of their horses in training, Murphy is going to be busy in 2027.

“We have 22 two-year-olds going into training and we’ve obviously got the three-year-olds coming through so it’s going to be horses here there and everywhere,” said Bond.

“It is all a team and we’ve got the top pilots to make sure we have every chance in the top races when they are ready.”

Bond stressed that PJ McDonald who has been a major part of building the operation into a force on the racecourse remains integral to the team.

“PJ can’t be everywhere, but he is big part of us moving forward. Last year we had 25 winners and this year we have had 18 so far. But those 18 we have been competing in higher grade races.

“We have been placed in a lot of black-type races. A lot of horses going from two to three are going be, potentially, better three-year-olds. We have come a long way in the last two to three years.

“Having got stuck into the yearling market we should be looking at trying to achieve our best year in 2027 and the signing of Oisin will see him get on board a lot of them. We have the right trainers and the right jockeys.”

Elsewhere, Kingston Narcissus can continue the winning machine of Harry and Dan Skelton in Bet Boost At bet365 Crossley Handicap Chase at Wetherby today.

The seven-year-old son of Authorized has had three runner-up finishes since switching to the champion trainer from Rebecca Menzies last spring, with the most recent of those coming in the Summer Plate at Market Rasen, beaten just a neck.

He was making only his fourth start over fences on that occasion and can only improve further under the Lodge Hill handler.

In the Listed Paul Ferguson’s Jumpers To Follow Wensleydale Juvenile Hurdle, there is an interesting Irish runner in John Nallen’s Minella Rockett.

Nallen has gone an unconventional route with this New Bay gelding, with his sole hurdles run coming in the middle of a Flat campaign on home soil which kick-started a hat-trick of wins across both codes.

Minella Rockett is in rude health and Nallen’s decision to cross the Irish Sea with the three-year-old is a tip in itself.