Johnson begins task of chasing down Hughes
Champion back 37 days after breaking an arm Rival has 20-win lead but could face bans
A mere 37 days after breaking his right arm in a fall at Exeter, Richard Johnson returns to the fray and the defence of his champion jockey title, with two rides for Olly Murphy at Musselburgh today. Maid For You (1.30) and Dubai Guest (3.52) are forecast to start favourite.
By anyone’s standards this is a quick return to the saddle, but in his absence his title rival, Brian Hughes, who was three winners in front of Johnson when he had the fall, has opened up a lead of 20. This makes it a difficult task for Johnson, but certainly not impossible.
“I am delighted to be back so quick,” said Johnson yesterday. “Touch wood it has healed as well as we think and a bit quicker than expected. It is nice to be back in a race and hopefully on a winner soon.
“As soon as I knew it was broken the first thing I thought about was the championship. It was tight anyway, and although it is not out of reach, it is going to be that much harder. I have got a lot of work to do just to get back level. It is important now to get a few winners on board and get ready for Cheltenham.”
Johnson nominated Thyme Hill, unbeaten in three starts this season, in the Albert Bartlett Hurdle as his best chance at the Festival. He also rates Brewin’ up a storm in the Arkle, Adrimel in the bumper, if it is proper soft ground, and La Bague Au Roi in a handicap chase as his most obvious Cheltenham chances.
Hughes has recently had a threeday ban for weighing in light suspended pending investigation, but today he appeals against a four-day ban incurred at Wolverhampton on Sunday, for using his whip down the shoulder in the forehand position. He is due to attend the hearing in London before flying to Musselburgh for a ride in the last race.
Simon Claisse, clerk of the course at Cheltenham, predicted soft ground for the Festival. “Considering it has been soft or heavy since October, I am very happy with the way things are,” he said.
The forecast for Cheltenham is for a pattern of wet, windy and unsettled weather until the Festival, which begins on March 10, with less rain predicted than the amount which fell in the 24 hours before Countryside Day in November, which was abandoned.
“It can dry quickly,” Claisse said. “The weather has not been cold this winter, the grass is moving and if the temperature rises it can dry up very quickly.”
Nothing has changed on the coronavirus front, but it will be a worry that Burford School, just 20 miles away, has been shut down for a week for a precautionary deep clean after a pupil returned from Italy at half-term and felt unwell.