( CNN ) -- The life of a jockey is far from glamorous -- a world away from the confines of the rarefied , hushed atmosphere of London 's National Portrait Gallery . It 's a life of blood , sweat and mud-splattered silks and it 's also a hazardous profession , with jockeys at frequent risk of serious injury . That gritty reality has been key to a photograph of jockey Katie Walsh winning a prestigious portrait competition featuring esteemed subjects like former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan . British photographer Spencer Murphy took the award-winning picture of Walsh -- sister of famed Irish jockey Ruby Walsh and the daughter of trainer Ted Walsh -- during a promotional shoot at Kempton racehorse . Walsh is pictured in the colors of the racehorse Seabass , who she rode to third in the 2012 Grand National steeplechase at Aintree . `` I wanted to show both her femininity and the toughness of spirit she requires to compete against the best riders in one of the most demanding disciplines in horse racing , '' Murphy , 35 , said in a statement after picking up the $ 19,000 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize . `` I chose to shoot the series on large format film , to give the images a depth and timelessness that I think would have been hard to achieve on a digital camera . '' It was a sweet success for Murphy , who was awarded third place in last year 's competition . A black-and-white shot of Annan captured by Iranian photographer Anoush Abrar was in third place this time around . `` In my mind it was clear what I wanted to do , '' said Abrar , who had previous experience of photographing Annan , `` and this portrait took literally three minutes ! '' Runner-up was Giles Price for a portrait of a pilgrim and her baby at India 's Kumbh Mela festival . The award ceremony took place at London 's National Portrait Gallery , where a selection of the 5,410 entries will be on display until February .
A portrait of jockey Katie Walsh has won a prestigious photography prize . Briton Spencer Murphy received a $ 19,000 check for the shot of the Irishwoman . Walsh is pictured in the colors of the racehorse Seabass . A picture of former UN secretary general Kofi Annan was awarded third place .