In an excerpt from Chasers & Hurdlers 2015/16, Timeform highlight Richard Johnson’s achievement during his maiden title-winning campaign.
Victory comes even more sweetly to those long denied it and Richard Johnson’s first jockeys’ championship – after finishing runner-up 16 times – provided racing with an inspirational story of perseverance, and was a cause for near-universal rejoicing among the sport’s followers. Britain’s champion jump jockey travelled the country, chalking up over 1000 rides and riding for over a 100 different trainers, and fulfilled his `dream to be champion’ with a personal record of 235 wins.
Richard Johnson’s closest pursuer, Aidan Coleman (`Whenever I ride a winner, you ride two!’), eventually finished over 100 winners behind.
The hard-working and unassuming Johnson had the title virtually sewn up by Christmas after making a flying start, with Jonjo O’Neill, Tim Vaughan, Charlie Longsdon and Irish-based Gordon Elliott contributing to the torrent of early winners, while his long-standing retainer with Philip Hobbs, whose horses were in fine form throughout, provided him with more than a third of his winners over the season as a whole.
With the retirement of 20-time champion Tony McCoy – who received a knighthood for services to racing – Richard Johnson’s accession could have been a somewhat hollow one, but he won the title in the grand manner.
McCoy and Peter Scudamore are the only other jump jockeys to have ridden 200 winners in a season, and Johnson’s total has been surpassed only by McCoy (albeit on four occasions).
On the way to winning the title, Johnson also rode his 3,000th winner over jumps in Britain, becoming only the second to reach that landmark. Richard Dunwoody and Peter Scudamore, next on the all-time list behind McCoy and Johnson, are the only others to have passed the milestone of 1,500 winners over jumps in Britain, while Ruby Walsh is the only other jump jockey, apart from McCoy and Johnson, to have ridden over 2,000 based on combined totals for Britain and Ireland.
Sir Anthony McCoy was on hand at Sandown’s Finale meeting to present Richard Johnson, given a guard of honour by his weighing room colleagues, with his champion’s trophy.
Johnson topped off his magnificent season by winning the bet365 Oaksey Chase on the same day for the third time on the Hobbs-trained Menorah, a victory which drew as big a roar as any on the day from the packed Sandown stands.