By Harvey Mayson
In the wake of the 2015 Grand National, Tony McCoy moves ever closer to his retirement and a twentieth jockeys’ title; we take a look at the leading contenders to replace him as champion next season.
Richard Johnson
Johnson has been living in the shadow of McCoy throughout his career. He has been runner-up in the jockeys’ championship on fifteen occasions. Johnson rode his 2,000th career winner on Fighting Chance back in 2009. Johnson is three years younger than McCoy and has already announced his determination to secure a jockeys’ title before he considers retirement.
He has the support of the powerful Philip Hobbs stable and could also come in for some of the rides normally reserved for McCoy next season. However, it is not a foregone conclusion that a title will come his way. He is currently in a tight battle for second place with Tom Scudamore and Sam Twiston-Davies.
Tom Scudamore
As the son of eight-times champion jockey Peter, the prospect of following in his father’s footsteps will be a huge incentive for Tom. His father was associated with Martin Pipe’s stable for many years and Tom has been riding for David Pipe since 2007. He rode 100 winners in a season for the first time in 2013-14 and has easily surpassed that total this season.
He is possibly the most under-rated of the leading jockeys as he has a higher strike-rate than both Johnson and Twiston-Davies and has had fewer rides than either of them. He is also popular with punters and is currently the only jockey in the top eight to be showing a profit to a level stake.
Sam Twiston-Davies
Twiston-Davies looks destined for the top having increased his tally year-on-year since 2008-09. He secured his first century in a season in 2013-14 and, like Scudamore, has improved markedly on that figure this term. His association with the Paul Nicholls stable has also improved his strike rate to nearly 20% while he trails only McCoy and Johnson in terms of rides this season.
His elevation to number one jockey at Ditcheat in place of Daryl Jacob raised some eyebrows but Twiston-Davies has handled the pressure admirably at a young age. Such is the strength in depth at the Nicholls stable that Nick Scholfied has been employed as second jockey while Noel Fehily has maintained his association with leading chaser Silviniaco Conti.
Brian Hughes
Another centurion this season is Brian Hughes, achieving that landmark for the first time recently. His tally hovered around the fifty mark until 2013-14 when he reached 86 and his reputation will have been boosted further by two high-profile winners at Aintree.
Hughes won on Surf And Turf for Kevin Frost and aboard the exciting novice Cyrus Darius for Malcolm Jefferson. He has had more rides than in any previous season and his talents are finally being recognised by the bigger training establishments in the south of England.
Noel Fehily
Fehily has been one of the leading National Hunt jockeys for the past ten seasons but he did not ride his first century of winners in a season until last year. He will fall short of that figure this time but has won more prize money than in any previous season.
His earliest big race winners were for Charlie Mann but he has increasingly been linked to the Paul Nicholls stable, most particularly dual-King George VI Chase winner Silviniaco Conti. He also rode Rock On Ruby to win the Champion Hurdle in 2012.
Barry Geraghty
Geraghty has been a stalwart of the weighing room for the past seven seasons since being retained as number one jockey for Nicky Henderson. He had previously ridden almost exclusively in Ireland and will forever be associated with Champion Chaser Moscow Flyer.
Injury ruled him out of Aintree this year but he could bounce back in style, having been linked with the job of number one jockey to JP McManus. That would make sense with the leading owner already having horses in training with Henderson. Whether Geraghty has the appetite to chase a champion jockeys’ title is open to question.
Jason Maguire
Maguire hit the headlines when riding Ballabriggs to win the Grand National in 2011. He was forced to miss the big race for the second year running this month for an operation on a troublesome back. He has ridden more than 100 winners in a season on four occasions, reaching 144 in consecutive seasons between 2011 and 2013. He has a long-standing association with trainer Donald McCain.
Aidan Coleman
Coleman rides for Venetia Williams and famously passed up the winning ride on Mon Mome in the 2009 Grand National in favour of a stable companion. He has enjoyed big race success on the likes of Houblon Des Obeaux and Katenko and achieved his best tally of 97 in 2013-14.
Sean Bowen
Seventeen-year-old Sean Bowen is being touted as a future champion after a fantastic season, culminating in his first National ride on Mon Parrain. He only qualified to ride in the race the previous week with his tenth chase winner and he is highly regarded by Paul Nicholls. He is certainly a name to keep on the short list for future seasons.
2015-16 National Hunt Jockeys Championship (Latest Prices 16.04.15)
Richard Johnson (Evens), Sam Twiston-Davies (11-4), Tom Scudamore (7-1), Jason Maguire (7-1), Barry Geraghty (8-1), Noel Fehily (25-1), Aidan Coleman (33-1)
