A Trainer’s Life in Lockdown: Amy Murphy

Trainer Amy Murphy’s yard is in Newmarket – how have she and her staff adapted to the lockdown during the coronavirus crisis? 

Murphy, 27, is one of around 550 licensed trainers in the racing industry that have had to change certain methods during the lockdown, ensuring that horses have been well cared for and exercised while reducing the risk of spreading Covid-19.

She has more than 50 horses in training (dual-purpose) and won her first Grade 1 race in April last year when Kalashnikov triumphed in the Devenish Manifesto Novices’ Chase at Aintree.

And Murphy stressed the importance of retaining a routine of exercise for her horses to thrive, while ensuring staff are adhering to government guidelines in terms of social distancing at the same time.

“We’re trying to keep horses in as normal a routine as possible during these times, obviously they can’t look after themselves and need to be exercised,” Murphy said.

“Horses appreciate a routine, so we are exercising them as usual, we’re just not doing as much fast work as we would if we were targeting a race. Strings are being sent out in fours rather than tens, with at least 3 metres between each horse, so it is certainly different in that aspect.

“We are keeping them ticked over and at a certain level of fitness so that we are pretty much ready to go when the sport resumes.”

In the video we see some of the measures her yard is taking during the lockdown period, including the distancing between smaller strings, preventing multiple people in the tack room at once and limiting the number of people who partake in tasks such as feeding and cleaning.

Credit: Great British Racing