The Richard Johnson Fact File
Four-times champion jump jockey Richard Johnson has announced his retirement from the race riding with immediate effect
Johnson broke the news at Newton Abbot and said:
“After nearly 30 years in the saddle, the time has come for me to retire,” he said in a statement. “I have been so extraordinarily lucky to have ridden so many wonderful horses, and for so many incredible trainers and owners.
“It was particularly important to me to finish on one for Philip and Sarah Hobbs who, like Henry Daly, have supported me for over 20 years. I’ll never be able to articulate what their loyalty has meant to me.
“There are so many people to thank who have been part of my journey. Without ‘the Duke’ and Dinah Nicholson and their remarkable staff, I’d never have got that first leg up. Noel Chance, Peter Bowen and Milton Bradley, thank you for putting your trust in me when I was starting out. Those were the days that shaped my career, with so many people who remain lifelong friends.
“The truth is there are simply too many people to thank on an individual basis, but you know who you are and what you mean to me. To jockeys past and present who I’ve shared weighing room benches with up-and-down the country, to the valets who have looked after me, to the doctors who’ve patched me up and to the physios who’ve put me back together.
“Without Dave Roberts I’d have never ridden as many winners and without the help of physio Kate Davis in recent years I wouldn’t physically have been able to. I salute you all.”
Johnson’s final ride was on the Philip Hobbs-trained Brother Tedd in the 2m5f handicap chase, finishing third. He gave up his last ride.
Career record
- First winner 1993/94 season
- Total number of winners: 3,228 from 17,924 rides, a strike rate of 18% – this made him the second most prolific rider of winners
- Most winners in a season: 235 (2015/16)
- Johnson rode 100 or more winners every season from 1996/97
Major race wins
- Arkle Challenge Trophy
- Bet365 Gold Cup (twice)
- Champion Hurdle
- Cheltenham Gold Cup (twice)
- Irish Gold Cup (twice)
- James Nicholson Wine Merchant Champion Chase
- Midlands Grand National.
- Punchestown Gold Cup
- Queen Mother Champion Chase
- RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase
- Scottish Grand National
- Stayers’ Hurdle
- Tingle Creek Chase
- Triumph Hurdle (thee times)
- Welsh Grand National (twice)
Honours
- British jump racing Champion Jockey 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019
- Awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2019
Significant horses
- Looks Like Trouble – Cheltenham Gold Cup
- Native River – Cheltenham Gold Cup
- Flagship Uberalles – Queen Mother Champion Chase
- Rooster Booster – Champion Hurdle
- Anzum
- Detroit City
- Florida Pearl
- Lacdoudal
