Why his work for injured jockeys is a bigger source of pride for John Francome than his illustrious racing career

Still regarded by many as National Hunt racing’s greatest horseman, he derives more pleasure from his work with the Injured Jockeys Fund.

Now a vice patron of the charity, he’s amazed at how its three rehab centres – Jack Berry House in Malton, Oaksey House in Lambourn and Peter O’Sullevan House in Newmarket – have adapted to Covid’s relentless demands.

He’s even more in awe of how fitness staff, and almoners, embraced new technology so current jockeys battling injury, and retired riders in need of help, received seamless support.

And Francome, who later became a much-loved broadcaster, is humbled by all those racegoers still supporting the IJF this Christmas – and that even more will do so over the festive period.

“They’ve done well to keep going to keep jockeys fit and back on the racecourse,” he told The Yorkshire Post in an exclusive interview.

“It’s also got so many more strings to its bow as its work, and the three centres, develop – today they help young jockeys with nutrition and general health as well as riding.”

Contrast this with the tentative start to the fledgling Francome’s celebrated career in 1970 when all he had was natural talent, determination and phenomenal work ethic.

A gifted young showjumper – he discloses that he turned down the chance to ride for Yorkshire legend Harvey Smith – his very first ride was a winning one when Multigrey won at Worcester in December 1970.

He was owned by potato farmer Godfrey Burr who lived near his parents’ home. “I used to go over there and ride his horse out and get a sack of potatoes in return,” said Francome.

Yet racing remains a great leveller and his next ride, on the grey King Street in a three-mile novice chase at Cheltenham, left him with a broken wrist.

“As I fell, I made the mistake of putting out my hand to save myself and, as I hit the ground, I felt the bone break,” says the ever enthusiastic 68-year-old who also enjoys coaching and mentoring young jockeys like the promising Northern conditional Thomas Willmott.

“Putting your hand out to save yourself is all right if you fall over when walking but it is not recommended when you have just parted company from a horse doing about 25mph.”

Today a stricken jockey would be contacted by the IJF almost instantaneously for an injury assessment – and to begin a programme of rehab.

Thanks to Jack Berry House, Derek Fox was fit to win a Grand National in 2017 on One For Arthur a month after suffering a similar type of injury to the one that befell Francome.

Back then, the still aspiring conditional rider had to spend an eternity on the sidelines – there was no guidance, he says, on what to do – and feared for his future as a jockey as his weight spiralled.

Like so many riders of that era, he would take diuretics – so-called ‘pee’ pills to accelerate dehydration – and Francome speaks of jockeys who could lose 10lb in a single morning. “It’s a wonder their kidneys still worked,” he ventures.

To this day, this proud son of a railway fireman attributes his career – and seven championships – to a Fred Winter-trained horse called Osbaldeston who ran up a sequence of victories under the young Francome to give him the confidence that he needed to take his career to new levels.

It was, he accepts, the luckiest of breaks and he fears for young riders today if they’re not steeped in pony racing. Without this background, he says, they will struggle and he even questions whether someone like him, from a non-racing background, would make it in the sport.

But that does a disservice to his horsemanship – and professionalism at Christmas when he would be in bed by 9.30pm, preparing for the Boxing Day races, while family and friends celebrated downstairs.

It was worth it. His festive highlights reel includes the 1982 King George VI Chase at Kempton on Michael Dickinson’s Wayward Lad for Yorkshire.

The following year saw Welsh Grand National success on Jenny Pitman’s Burrough Hill Lad, an emerging force with just 10st 7lb on that day. “A licence to print money,” reflects the jockey.

And then 1984 when Burrough Hill Lad – the then reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup victor – battled to a hard-fought King George win under Francome who had been obliged to ride Winter’s Brown Chamberlain in the blue riband race.

Equally vivid, however, are the memories of riding for the legendary Pitman. “I got on well with her,” says Francome who tips the Paul Nicholls-trained Clan Des Obeaux to win a third successive King George next weekend.

“She did remarkably well with a small number of horses who were never easy to keep sound. And she never had to give me instructions. The one thing that’s never changed is the job of a jockey.

“Your job is to make everything you can as easy as possible for the horse. You’ve got to make sure they can see the fence, that they’ve got somewhere to land and that you get them in a rhythm.”

John Francome makes it sound simple. It isn’t. But then again few, if any, have matched his poetic perfection in the saddle over the past half century.

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