Has Richard Johnson ever won the Grand National?

In 2015/16, Richard Johnson finally emerged from the shadow of perennial champion Sir Anthony McCoy – to whom he had finished runner-up on no fewer than 16 occasions – to win the National Hunt Jockeys’ Championship for the first time. Indeed, Johnson went on to win the jockeys’ title again for the next three seasons running and, in 2019/20, was only three winners behind eventual winner Brian Hughes when sustaining a broken arm following a fall at Exeter in early January, which effectively ended his hopes of a fifth jockeys’ championship.

Champion conditional jockey in 1995/96, at the age of 18, Johnson has enjoyed a long, illustrious career. However, despite winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice, on Looks Like Trouble in 2000 and Native River in 2018, he has never won the Grand National. In fact, Johnson holds the record for the most rides in the Grand National, 21, and, less enviably, the most rides without a winner.

Johnson first rode in the infamous ‘Monday National’ in 1997, but was unseated when his mount, Celtic Abbey, blundered at The Chair, the penultimate fence on the first circuit. Since then, the closest he has come to winning the National was in 2002, when What’s Up Boys was eventually beaten a length-and-three-quarters by the rallying Bindaree, having held a three-length lead at the Elbow, halfway up the run-in. Johnson also rode the runner-up, Balthazar King, in the 2014 Grand National.

Who is, or was, the most successful jockey in the Grand National?

The most successful jockey in the history of the Grand National was George Stevens, who rode five winners of the renowned steeplechase during the nineteenth century. Stevens opened his account in 1856, aboard 25/1 chance Freetrader, trained by William Holman; the lightly-weighted seven-year-old took advantage of a mistake by his nearest rival, Minerva, at the final obstacle – in those days an artificial hurdle – to surge ahead and win by a length.

In the 1863 renewal of the Grand National, Stevens’ mount, Emblem, a 10/1 chance trained by Edwin Weever, knocked down the final hurdle, but was so far in front at the time that the mistake had little effect on the result. The seven-year-old eventually won by 20 lengths from Arbury, who would also finish second in the 1864 Grand National, behind 100/7 chance Emblematic – a six-year-old full sister to Emblem – also ridden by Stevens for the same connections. Emblematic and Arbury jumped the final flight upsides, but the former drew away in the closing stages to win easily by 3 lengths.

Stevens also recorded back-to-back victories in the Grand National in 1869 and 1870, aboard The Colonel, trained by R. Roberts. In 1869, as a six-year-old, The Colonel carried 10st 7lb to an easy, 3-length victory over Hall Court at odds of 100/7; the following year, despite the welter burden of 11st 12lb, he was sent off 7/2 favourite and prevailed by a neck from Primrose in a driving finish.

Which are the most valuable races in Britain?

The most valuable horse races in Britain naturally include some of the most prestigious, and most coveted, contests on the horse racing calendar. Traditionally the fourth Classic of the season, the Derby Stakes, or Derby, for short, run over a mile-and-a-half at Epsom, is currently the most valuable horse race run in Britain. The 2024 Derby, held on Saturday 1st June will be the 245th time the race has been held, with with a total prize money of £1,500,000 accorting to the Jockey Club.The prize fund breakdown for the winner and other places last year was as follows:

 

1st – £885,781.84

2nd – £335,819.24

3rd – £168,065.82

4th – £83,720.52

5th – £42,016.46

6th – £21,086.33

 

Elsewhere on the Flat, the Ebor Handicap, run over a mile-and-three-quarters at York, received a massive boost in prize money when Sky Bet took over sponsorship of the race in 2018 with a total prize fund going from £500,000 to £1 million; making it the most valuable race of its kind, not only in Britain, but in the whole of Europe. However, post covid the race is less valuable once more back at £500,000 accoridng to the York racecourse website (as is the prize money offered for the Sky Bet City of York Stakes held on the same day).

In 2020, two Group One races at Royal Ascot, namely the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, run over a mile-and-a-quarter, and the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, run over six furlongs, were due for an increase in prize money, to £1 million from £750,000 and £600,000, respectively. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, prize money at the Royal Meeting was amended, such that all eight Group One races were run for £250,000. The prize money for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Diamond Jubilee Stakes are now back up to £1,000,000 though with £567,100 going to the winner, so that will be the 2024 purse on offer.

Generally speaking, National Hunt racing is less lucrative than Flat racing, in terms of the prize money on offer. Nevertheless, while not quite on a par with the Derby, the Grand National, run over four miles and two-and-a-half furlongs at Aintree, offers total prize money of £1 million, making it the most valuable steeplechase run in Europe, in 2024 £561,000 went to the winner, I am Maximus.

What is The Longest Horse Race in the World?

According to Guinness World Records, the longest horse race in the world is the Mongol Derby which, since 2009, has been staged annually each August in the Binder district of Khentii Province in eastern Mongolia. The Mongol Derby traces a 1,000-kilometre, or 621-mile, route across a vast expanse of grassland, known as the Mongolian Steppe, and attempts to recreate the messaging system established by Genghis Khan, Emperor of the Mongol Empire, in the early thirteenth century.The course is punctuated at regular intervals by a network of horse stations, or ‘urtuu’, as they are known locally, twenty or so miles apart. The stations are hosted by local families, employed by the race organisers, The Adventurists, to provide food, accommodation and support to participating riders.

The same families provide native Mongolian horses, 1,500 or so of which are trained, specifically, for the Mongol Derby each year. Mongolian horses are stocky, ranging between twelve and fourteen hands in height, but, although diminutive by Western standards, are deceptively strong. The vast majority live in semi-feral herds, outdoors, throughout the year, and largely fend for themselves, with human intervention. They must survive not only the short, warm summer, but also the long, dry and frigid winter – which can resul temperatures as low as -40°C – for which Mongolia is notorious. Mongolian horses are blessed with a calm, docile temperament and an abundance of stamina, making them the perfect partners for the Mongol Derby. Indeed, riders from all over the world are prepared to stump up the not insignificant entry fee – £11,375 at the last count – which also includes three days’ training.

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