A name almost synonymous with British jump racing, Richard Johnson’s career is unlucky to have been overshadowed perhaps by a name even more synonymous – I’ll get to that later, though I’m sure many of you can guess who!
Born in Hereford, into a horse racing family, both of his parents were involved in the sport on the racing and training sides.
Having grown up on an arable and cattle farm, he was surrounded by horses and this gave him early exposure to the sport.
It perhaps didn’t come as a surprise, due to his heritage, that he quickly developed a natural affinity to riding.
Johnson’s Start In Racing
Starting his career at an early age, he won his first race as a teenager in the 1993/1994 season, announcing himself to the sport in style – pundits were already clamouring about this prodigious talent.
In the 1995/1996 campaign, Johnson was crowned Champion Conditional Jockey aged just 18, quickly making a name for himself under esteemed trainer, David Nicholson, who had been a major influence during Johnson’s point-to-point development.
For the first time in his career, he rode 100 winners during the 1996/1997 season and this really helped to solidify his reputation as a jockey to keep an eye on.
How His Career Gained Traction
It wasn’t until the early 2000s when I first became aware of Johnson – he was a name I began to notice, year after year, but in more of a subtle way.
The reason for this, is that he was perhaps unlucky to be in the shadow of arguably the best jump jockey we have seen for the last two years – a certain Sir AP McCoy. As such, Johnson finished runner-up in the Jockey’s Championship a record 17 times – 16 to ‘AP’ and once to Brian Hughes.
I remember thinking, “this guy just can’t catch a break”! There is no doubt in my mind that had McCoy not been around, Johnson would have won many of these.
Although, I have to admire his persistence. When McCoy retired, Johnson’s chance opened up. As such, he then took the title four years in a row from 2016 to 2019 and amassed 3,800 wins during his career, making him the second most successful National Hunt jockey in the sport’s history.
In 2018, as he was heading towards an inevitable title, he grabbed himself a great bonus by winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup, aboard Native River – 18 years after he had last won it with Looks Like Trouble.
Interestingly, Johnson holds the record for most Grand National appearances without a win (21), although I don’t really think you can hold that against him. Many greats haven’t won the race, which, even now, despite having a reduced field, is still essentially a lottery.
He amassed a staggering prize pot that exceeded £34 million throughout his career and in April 2021, he retired, with the respect of many figures in the sport – admired for his sportsmanship and perseverance. Johnson is also an OBE (Order of the British Empire), for his services to horse racing – a great accolade.
In his retirement, Johnson is still involved in the sport from an ambassadorial perspective and acts as a mentor for young jockeys.