Johnson is delighted to finally realise champion jockey dream

Richard Johnson described his first jockeys' title as the 'realisation of a dream'.
Richard Johnson with the champion jump jockey trophyRichard Johnson with the champion jump jockey trophy
Richard Johnson with the champion jump jockey trophy

For so long in the shadow of Sir Anthony McCoy, Johnson finally claimed the title after a 20th consecutive season with over 100 winners and surpassed the 200 mark for the first time in his career this term.

Johnson took his tally to 235 for the campaign when partnering Menorah to victory in the Grade Two bet365 Oaksey Chase.

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Johnson said: “This has been a day to remember. It is the culmination of a lot of hard work and patience and the realisation of a dream.

“I’m as surprised as anyone with the way the season has gone. There was a sense at the start of the season that if I won people would say it has been only because AP had retired. While that is true to a degree, the number of winners I have had and the work I put in to achieve it, means it is so satisfying.

“Winning the title means everything to me. It is really what you work towards every day. There have been times when you think, ‘Am I ever going to win it?’, but I’m glad to say that it has finally come true.

“Philip and Sarah Hobbs have been so supportive throughout and I’m as pleased for them as I am for myself. It has been a team effort from all those in the yard and I could not have done it without their unwavering support and that of the owners, who have been tremendous.”

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The unassuming farmer’s son, now 38, is only the second person to ride over 3,000 jumps winners.

While McCoy’s total of 4,358 total winners is unlikely to be surpassed – “I might need the use of a Zimmer frame to get near his total” – Johnson holds the former champion in the utmost respect, and the 20-times champion presented him with the trophy.

The pair are good friends, despite the on-course rivalry, and Johnson said: “AP was great to ride against. He was tough but fair, everything a good sportsman and a great champion should be.

“He was a true champion and it was a tremendous honour that he was here today.

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“Yes, there have been a few more opportunities with AP not around and it has been interesting being out in front rather than chasing. I’ve quite liked that!

“The title has always been my dream and I’ve waited 20 years for this day to come – so I’m going to enjoy it.

“It is wonderful to win the title and I’m determined to try to defend it again.”

Former champion jockey Richard Dunwoody says Richard Johnson should be hailed “a superstar” of the sport and would have made the late, great trainer David Nicholson proud. Having finished runner-up 16 times in the jockeys’ title race, Johnson could have been forgiven for thinking his chance had gone.

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Dunwoody said: “It is tremendous for Dicky (Johnson). I don’t think there has been a more worthy or popular champion.

“To have ridden as many winners as he has is phenomenal. To ride that many when AP was at his peak for all these years is astounding.

“If AP had not been around, we’d be hailing Dicky as a superstar, and I think he is.

“In terms of the number of career winners, I scraped past Scu (Peter Scudamore), but Dicky has more than doubled our tally and that’s absolutely phenomenal.

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“And let’s not forget that AP may not have pushed himself so hard and for so long had Dicky not been around.”

The title is Johnson’s first since winning the conditional jockeys’ championship in 1995, having cut his teeth under the intimidating gaze of Nicholson.

‘The Duke’, who died in August 2006 at the age of 67, produced a conveyor belt of riding talent, with Scudamore, Dunwoody and Adrian Maguire all household names. Dunwoody added: “The Duke thought the world of Dicky and he rode one of his first winners at the Festival for him.

“He would have been absolutely delighted for him.

“And I’m sure The Duke would have been equally delighted to tell everyone that two of the last three champion jockeys rode for him!”

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Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Don Cossack’s racing career could be in jeopardy after he suffered a tendon injury which rules him out of the Punchestown Festival.

The brilliant nine-year-old was due to line up in the Bibby Financial Services Ireland Punchestown Gold Cup on Wednesday, but will play no part in the big spring Festival.

Don Cossack’s problem was discovered on Sunday morning once the Gigginstown House Stud-owned chaser returned from a workout on the gallops.

Eddie O’Leary, racing manager for Gigginstown, said Gordon Elliott’s inmate will not return to action unless he is “100 per cent”.

O’Leary said: “He will be treated with the aim to bring him back.

“If all goes well, that will be the plan, but if he isn’t 100 per cent (fit), we won’t be doing it.”