Which jockey holds the record for rides in the Grand National?
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The jockey who holds the record for rides in the Grand National is Richard Johnson with 21. Johnson first rode in the celebrated steeplechase in 1997, parting company with his mount, Celtic Abbey, at The Chair during the infamous ‘Monday National’, postponed for 48 hours after a bomb threat forced the evacuation of Aintree Racecourse. Indeed, Johnson failed to complete the National Course on his first five attempts, but on his sixth, in 2002, came as close as he ever would to winning the race.
That year, Johnson rode 10/1 co-second favourite What’s Up Boys, trained by Philip Hobbs and, having been hampered at the seventh fence, aka ‘Foinavon’, found himself in the last half a dozen or so heading out onto the second circuit. However, the pair made significant headway at Valentine’s Brook on the second circuit, led over the final fence and were three lengths clear on the run-in, only to be overhauled close home and beaten a length and three-quarters by Bindaree.
Following that near-miss, Johnson rode in every renewal of the Grand National until 2016, but never finished bettter than second, which he did once more, on Balthazar King, also trained by Hobbs, in 2014. He did not ride in the Grand National in 2017 or 2018, but returned to Aintree for one last hurrah on Rock The Kasbah, for Hobbs again, but once again failed to complete the course.
Johnson announced his retirement from the saddle with immediate effect on April 3, 2021. During a career spanning nearly 30 years, he rode 3,819 winners won the National Hunt Jockeys’ Championship four years running in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Sadly, he also has the dubious distinction of being the jockey who has ridden most often in the Grand National without winning it.
The first thing people notice at a London race event is not always the horses. It is often the style. Before the gates even open, groups of men walk towards the track dressed in sharp suits, polished shoes, and bright smiles. There is a buzz in the air that feels different from any other day out in the city. Race day is not just sport anymore. It has become one of the biggest style moments of the year.