The Jockeys Who Fall Off Most Often...

I know of a couple of owners that have not been happy with RJ's riding to the extent that meetings have taken place with his most prominent trainer.
 
Richard Johnson has been a negative for me for years. He only got where he did as an up and coming jockey because he was riding royalty at the time.
 
How many winners has Mike Tindall ridden? Wasn't Johnson runner-up in the Jockeys Championship for at least 4 years on the trot before he started seeing Zara?
 
Richard Johnson was incredibly fit and had the fearlessness of youth when first scaling the heights, but it's worth remembering that he's had two particularly bad falls resulting in a badly broken leg on each occasion, both of which might have seen him killed. That might explain why he may have lost his bottle to a degree, and who could blame him?
 
Yet he continues to ply his trade as a top NH jockey. No-one could blame him after his injuries if he were to lose his bottle but if so, he should admit as much and either hang his boots up or ride for owners and trainers who accept that he's lost his bottle. We've all broken bones and undergone surgery after falls yet not all of us have tried to make out that we're still top jockeys and denied that we might have lost our bottle. Christ alive, I've had a hip replacement - on top of two lots of surgery for a broken femur - yet I'll still get in the saddle, and if not, admit why I cannot do so. And yes, I'd ride under rules if they'd let me (having passed the riding tests at BRS to do so) yet somehow I'd doubt they'd give me a licence now I've a metal hip. Sympathy where sympathy's due - if he's had it that bad he should admit as much and give the game up.
 
It's a fair point Rory, but it is something that puts him at a disadvantage against his colleagues, and from my point of view, it's more a need to concentrate on the effect rather than the cause.
 
It might be an idea to point out that my comments as stated were entirely in response to the idea put forward by Rory, rather than stating that theory to be fact. If indeed Rory is correct then surely everybody would be best served (including Johnson himself) to re-assess the situation as it is.
 
I don't see why Richard Johnson should leave a lucrative job like he has, offering as it does the chance to ride some of the best horses in the country in some of the best races in the calendar. And for what, for a warped sense of honour?

He may not be best in the country at the moment, but he is still a talent, who worked his arse off for years to get to the position he is in now.
 
Bar the Bull said:
I don't see why Richard Johnson should leave a lucrative job like he has, offering as it does the chance to ride some of the best horses in the country in some of the best races in the calendar. And for what, for a warped sense of honour?

He may not be best in the country at the moment, but he is still a talent, who worked his arse off for years to get to the position he is in now.
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Fair comment. While I'm no fan these days, he's not putting himself up as a top jockey - those who employ him are, and it's up to them to decide his future.
 
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