Oisin Murphy after securing his first Gulfstream victory (Coglianese)
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.— Oisin Murphy walked into the scale room outside the winner’s circle following Saturday’s third race at Gulfstream Park with Clerk of Scales Victor Sanchez waiting for the International star jockey to weigh out following a hard-fought triumph aboard Variable Cost.
“It took me long enough,” quipped Murphy before stepping onto the scale.
Murphy found the Gulfstream winner’s circle on his second day of the Championship Meet, coming out a nose to the good following a protracted stretch duel between Variable Cost ($6.60) and I Am the Game, the 6-5 favorite ridden by Emisael Jaramillo.
Murphy, the three-time British champion jockey who will ride at Gulfstream Park through January, had rallied outside the favorite aboard the Jack Sisterson trainee for the better part of the stretch in the 1 1/16-mile claiming race on Tapeta.
“Gulfstream is a beautiful track and it’s great to see a crowd here every day. It’s nice to get one on the board,” the 28-year-old Murphy said. “There were two standout horses in the race. He did it very well.”
Murphy, who had three mounts prior to Saturday’s victory, is no stranger to the all-weather surface.
“It’s very similar to what we have in England,” he said.
