Luck On Sunday: Oisin Murphy on his Royal Ascot rides

Did it really last for two-and-a-half hours? Luck On Sunday flew by again this morning as special guests Michael Pitman, Oisin Murphy, Jeremy Noseda and Lee Mottershead held court in the company of host Nick Luck.

Below are among five of the many things that we learnt.

Murphy sweet on Fox Chairman:

Oisin Murphy was on Luck On Sunday this time last year and suggested Bacchus, who had been riding in his work, was a huge price for the Wokingham.

The Brian Meehan-trained gelding duly won the big sprint at 33-1 and the young jockey helped swell plenty of bank balances - even if he ended up being unable to ride him.

So when Murphy was asked about his rides and views for this week’s Royal Meeting, it was time to sit on the edge of the seat and take notice.

The nap? Murphy reckons Fox Chairman, trained by Andrew Balding and owned by King Power, is the one they all have to beat in the Hampton Court Stakes on Thursday.

The general 6-1 chance was an unlucky third in the Dee Stakes at Chester last time and he said: “I rode Fox Chairman yesterday and I think he’s very good. He’s my tip. I hope I don’t jinx him because it would be great if he could win for all connected with him. I think he can.”

Murphy is also excited by the Archie Watson-trained Guildsman, a six-length winner on his debut at Goodwood, in the Coventry on Tuesday. He is a general 8-1.

“It’s very hard to tell how good he at home because we haven’t pushed many buttons,” he said. “He didn’t do a stroke in front when winning at Goodwood and only blew for about 30 seconds after the race. He clearly has a big engine.”

He added that he thinks Robin Of Navan has a live chance in the Royal Hunt Cup – “I should have beaten Zaaki at Ascot – I didn’t give him a great ride” – and revealed he will partner Gunmetal for David Barron the Wokingham. The pair are both available at 14-1.

“Andrew has kindly let me off to ride Gunmetal, who is one of the fancied ones and has been trained for the race,” he said.

Pitman proves an inspiration:

What a survivor. What a man. Michael Pitman, the New Zealand-based trainer responsible for Royal Ascot raider Enzo’s Lad, talked openly about many subjects including his son Johnny’s tragic death, losing a leg in a car accident and his recent battle with cancer.

Johnny was a gifted sportsman, particularly brilliant at martial arts, but he suffered from depression from an early age and took his own life aged 28.

“There’s a lot of sporting people, including high achievers, who do suffer from depression. We all put on a brave face at times but, inwardly, there are a lot of people suffering that nobody knows about,” Pitman said.

“I’ve had a lot of help myself. I got pretty depressed about it [Johnny’s death] and went to a shrink a few times.

“One day he gave me a pen and a piece of paper and said ‘I want you to write down all the good things your son did and the bad things’.

“There was one column on the left and one on the right. The good column was full of different things and I couldn’t write one bad thing [in the other]. My son was a really good boy.”

The letter J adorns the silks of all Pitman runners. “Johnny’s with us every day we go to the races,” he said.

There were also some lovely lighter moments. “The owners are here for a good time,” Pitman said. “They are going to lap it all up. This is Royal Ascot – not just a picnic meeting out in the Bush. This is the best meeting of the year in any jurisdiction. It’s as much about being here as the horse but I’d love to run top six.”

Jeremy Noseda’s decision to quit the training ranks this month stunned many. He spoke about his time in racing and why the time was right for him to walk away.

He finally decided enough was enough shortly after having two winners at York’s Dante meeting and travelling to Madrid with his sons and friends..

“It’s hard when you’ve seen the absolute top of the game,” said the man who played a pivotal role in Godolphin’s early days. “I didn’t get any great kick out of it [the York winners]. That’s being brutally honest.

“Is this where you want to be at this moment? Are you really revelling in the situation? Are you really enjoying it to the manner you should do?

“Horseracing was always my passion in life. Maybe there was an element where I wasn’t getting the thrill I should do.”

He added the only sadness was telling staff of his decision – some of whom he known or had worked with for almost 30 years. “That was the emotional moment – in other senses I was very settled,” he said.

Noseda also said his final runner will be in the Wokingham and spoke about his relationship with Godolphin and their success. “It was Sheikh Mohammed’s vision; at the back of my mind I thought it was half-crazy,” he said.

Magic Circle set for Gold Cup:

Ian Williams reflected on the success of Gold Mount at York on Saturday and spoke about future targets.

“Projects are always exciting and when they start off as well as he has done it’s fantastic. He’s a horse for all tracks and all seasons,” he said.

Williams was talking via phone, watching his horses work at the same time.

Magic Circle ran past him and he gave a live update “he’s going very nicely’ before confirming he would run in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot on Thursday.

“His form with Kew Gardens at Chester this year has been franked over what for him was an inadequate trip and although he’s won at Chester it’s a tight track for a big horse like him,” he said.

“The weather has stayed a little inclement so the ground should be perfect. Stradivarius? I don’t think that’s a nut you would expect to crack but I’m sure Magic Circle is going to be poking around the places.

Masar in the right race:

There were seven Talking Points this week – the section of the show where guests talk about different topics for a maximum of two minutes.

One slot was reserved for the Derby winner Masar after Charlie Appleby, his trainer, announced on Saturday he would run in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot instead of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

“He saw a mile and a half out very well in the Derby. Obviously we haven’t seen him since, unfortunately. He ran a very fast time in Newmarket in the Craven and I think he’s an exceptional horse. It’s great to see him back,” Oisin Murphy said.

“Charlie’s a very good trainer and I’m sure he’s going to place his horse where he is going to win, or try and win, and he feels this is a good spot, Possibly the Prince of Wales’s on his comeback run against the likes of Sea Of Class and Crystal Ocean was a tough task, so this is possibly the right decision.”