Ferdy Murphy, who has died aged 70, acted as a private trainer for wealthy racehorse owners before establishing a successful National Hunt stable in his own right.

While the most prestigious races in the jumps calendar, such as the Aintree Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, may have eluded him, there were plenty of other big races to his credit. He won 12 prizes at the Cheltenham Festival, including an Arkle Chase and a Triumph Hurdle, as well as three Scottish Nationals and one Irish.

Ferdinand Patrick Murphy was born into a farming family in Co Wexford on November 6 1948, and on leaving school in Clonroche became an apprentice jockey with Phonsie O’Brien (brother of the great Vincent O’Brien) in Tipperary. In his seven years there he failed to make much impression, and gave it up to work as a labourer in London. He returned to Ireland when offered the job of breaking in yearlings at Paddy Mullins’s yard in Wexford, and he was later appointed first jockey.