CHAMPION jockey Oisin Murphy has been charged with drink driving after he was involved in a car crash last month.
He was charged by the police last Thursday, on the same day he rode a double at Royal Ascot on Arabian Storm and Never So Brave.
Thames Valley Police have also charged him with failing to provide a sample at the roadside after a grey Mercedes A-Class collided with a tree near Hungerford on April 27.
The four-time champion jockey will appear at Reading Magistrates Court on July 3.
A statement from Thames Valley Police said: “A man has been charged in connection with an ongoing investigation into a serious road traffic collision in Hermitage, West Berkshire.
“Last Thursday (19/6) Oisin Murphy, aged 29, of Beales Farm Road, Lambourn, Hungerford, was charged by postal requisition with one count of driving a motor vehicle while over the prescribed limit of alcohol and one count of failing to cooperate with a preliminary test at the roadside.
“The charge is in connection with a single vehicle road traffic collision around 12.05am on Sunday 27 April this year when a grey Mercedes A Class left the road and crashed into a tree.
“Murphy is due to appear at Reading Magistrates鈥 Court on 3 July.
“It is vital that people do not speculate or spread misinformation on social media as this is a live investigation.”
Murphy had ridden a treble at Leicester the day before the accident, but missed a book of rides at Southwell on April 27 because of ‘travel issues’.
He returned to the saddle at Windsor on the Monday, the same day Thames Valley Police put out an ‘appeal for witnesses’ following the ‘serious traffic collision’.
It read: “At around 12.05am on Sunday (27/4), on Marlston Road, a single vehicle, a grey Mercedes A Class, crashed into a tree.
鈥淏oth occupants of the vehicle required medical attention, with a woman aged in her twenties taken to hospital with serious injuries, where she remains at this time.
鈥淎 29-year-old man from Hungerford, has been arrested for causing serious injury by dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen for analysis. He has been released on police bail.鈥
He has not ridden since Monday at Windsor, but he is due to return to the saddle at Doncaster on Friday.