By Craig Simpkin
We are, technically, halfway through the jump racing season already, and while most of the hottest action is still to come the quest to be crowned Champion Jockey already looks to be, if you'll pardon the pun, a two horse race.
Qualifying races for the championship start as early as April, and whilst for many punters the ‘proper' National Hunt campaign starts in October and culminates at the festival season next spring, a collection of jockeys already have a decent number of wins under their belts.
It's a pleasure to be able to write that Richard Johnson, one of the nicest men in horse racing and a 16 time Champion Jockey runner-up, has piled ahead of his closest rivals. But for the likes of Aiden Coleman and Sam Twiston-Davies, they will know that there is a heck of a lot of races left to run.
Top of the Pile
But it is Johnson who dominates the leaderboard at this early stage. For so long the number two to his nemesis (in the friendliest possible terms) to AP McCoy, the 38-year-old finally has the chance to step out of the Irishman's shadow following his retirement at the end of the 2014/15 campaign.
And he has raced out of the blocks with 131 winners in 568 outings; a win ratio of 23%. Johnson has always been one of the hardest-working jockeys on the circuit, and that is reflected in the fact that he has ridden in 200 races more than his closest competitor. That speaks volumes – and you could make a case for suggesting that the win ratio statistic is, in many ways, more relevant. But the best jockeys get the best (and most) mounts, and that should not be overlooked.
Following Johnson in second place is Coleman, who has squired 84 rides to victory in 348 outings (a win ratio of 24%, for what it's worth), whilst Noel Fehily completes the podium with 59 wins from 314 races (19%). The rest of the main contenders are made up of Twiston-Davies (54 winners in 276 at 20%), Brian Hughes (49 in 338 at 14%) and Tom Scudamore (42 in 257 at 16%).
The bookmakers certainly think that Johnson has the title sewn up already; despite there being hundreds of races yet to run in a jam-packed six months or so. You can back the current leader from as short as 1/20, with Coleman priced at 10/1, Scudamore 12/1, Twiston-Davies 12/1 and Fehily 25/1. Fans of huge value might like a flutter on Barry Geraghty (100/1), who is hugely talented but reluctant to travel the length and breadth of the UK in search of wins.
It's also worth knowing that bookmakers will pay out on each way bets for a top two finish, so if you can find the runner-up in the pile then you should still secure a decent-sized payout.
Destiny Calling
Nobody would begrudge Johnson his first Champion Jockey crown in more than two decades of trying, and he is surely going to pass the 200 winners mark for the first time sooner rather than later.
He is backed by his relationships with leading trainers such as Philip Hobbs, Charlie Longsdon and latterly Jonjo O'Neill, and it is these connections that are likely to stand Johnson in good stead come April of next year.
The winner of Cheltenham's ‘grand slam' will have also been buoyed by the news that, for the first time in history, the Champion Jockey will be financially rewarded for the first time following Eddie Stobart's sponsorship deal with the National Hunt. After 16 consecutive wins, that news presumably went down like a lead balloon in the McCoy household.
But the last word must go to Johnson, a worthy champion-elect if ever there was one. He told Sky Sports: “I've had a great time riding – for 22 years in all – and it's nice to now hopefully get a chance to do the best I can and, if I could manage to get that title, it would mean everything to me.”
