After 14 years at the top of his game, Ballydoyle's number one rider Johnny Murtagh has teamed up with Horse Racing Ireland to become their Flat ambassador for the 2009 season.
Murtagh is set for a busy summer keeping the show rolling with Aidan O'Brien's powerful yard, while also juggling the demands of family life with his wife Orla and their five children.
The 38-year-old becomes the first such professional ambassador for the governing body and has cleared his diary to make way for personal appearances, interviews and even visits to pony clubs to expand the sport's appeal.
‘Racing has been very good to me and it is great to give something back, especially at this time when the world and racing is going through a recession,’ said Murtagh.
‘We have got to get young people into racing. It is a good day out and a great social occasion.
‘Often when people go once they get bitten by the bug and want to go back again and again.
‘It is up to the people involved in racing, whether it be trainers, jockeys or the courses themselves, to put on a good show as there are so many other things that people can do instead.
‘We keep saying that we are the best in the world, but we have to prove to everyone that we are and show that we are.
‘Concerts, BBQ nights, family days and the likes all help and you need things like that to get people in.’
Having ridden his first winner for John Oxx nearly 22 years ago, Murtagh has risen through the racing ranks - spending several years working for Oxx before a stint freelancing.
He then received the magic invite to join the all-conquering Ballydoyle yard last spring in a personal phone call from Michael Tabor.
And he has not looked back, bagging 21 Group One races throughout 2008 and raising his profile on the international stage.
An avid Manchester United fan, he believes everyone in racing from the top down has a duty
to promote the industry.
‘I was always into sport myself and if you went to a football match and got someone's autograph it meant so much, so it is very important for everyone involved to go out there and be open to meeting the public and say thanks for coming,’ he explained.
‘I had no background with horses as a kid. My cousins used to have donkeys and we would ride them at home.
‘I was into all sports and then wrote away to the apprentice school in Kildare and as soon as I experienced the atmosphere of being with the horses, then I knew it was for me.
‘I spent 10 months there learning how to ride and they then sent you out to trainers, and I was lucky enough to be sent out to John Oxx.
‘I have always been competitive - whether it was five-a-side football, snooker, tennis or boxing - so racing was something else to be competitive at. I have always found the riding easy and have loved it.
‘I think if you love your job and love what you do, then you always have a better chance of succeeding.’
Succeeding is something Murtagh also aims to do in his new role, especially where his IT skills are concerned.
His appearances through the summer will be advertised on www.goracing.ie, while he will be keeping friends old and new updated on his movements through his personal pages on Facebook, Twitter and Bebo.
HRI's Tamso Doyle explained: ‘Johnny will be going online bringing racing to Twitter, Facebook and Bebo which many of our audiences increasingly use for information and entertainment.’
While finding his way around his new social networking spaces will encroach into his life, Murtagh nominates time at home as his favourite way to pass a lazy Sunday.
‘I like spending time at home with Orla and the kids,’ he explains.
‘My daughter does a bit of hunter trailing and pony camp so it is great to go and do that as there aren't many Sundays that you get to have off at home.
‘I enjoy having a game of golf now and again, and I love watching all sports.’
Any talk of a life of permanent golf and relaxation is quickly dismissed by Murtagh, who intends on maintaining his life in the saddle for a good few years to come.
He added: ‘As long as I am happy, fit and enjoying what I am doing, then there is no time limit.
‘Mick Kinane is coming up to 50 and people were saying he was finished two years ago.
‘It is amazing when you have the horses. People can say this or that jockey is great, but great horses make great jockeys and the horses do count for a lot.
‘Mick Kinane has been the one who has promoted Irish racing. When I started off, if an English jockey came to the Curragh on a Sunday they would ride five out of six favourites, but Mick Kinane stopped that.’
