Horse racing: Emma Lavelle – Yahoo Sport UK’s columnist: All hail brilliant Johnson

Top British trainer Emma Lavelle is Jumps Racing Ambassador for Bet4Causes and columnist for the Racing Plus newspaper.

In her brand new column, exclusively for Yahoo Sport UK, she looks ahead to Saturday’s Jump meetings and next season’s Jockeys’ championship…

BECOMING an A-list celebrity jockey was never part of the plan for Richard Johnson.

The 38-year-old is not, as yet, the face of racing; that tag is still shared by superstar Frankie Dettori, super-cool Tony McCoy and super-sized John McCririck. Racing is lucky to have them.

But the cojones of the franchise? That’s Dickie Johnson.

Having ridden over 3,000 career winners, he is on the verge of his first Jump Jockeys’ title. It seems incredible that he was as big as 11/8 to win the championship at the start of the season, but when he does finally lift the trophy on April 23, it will be richly deserved.

If anything could temper Johnson’s sense of accomplishment, perhaps it is the spectre of AP’s supremacy. His incomparable predecessor transformed the sport, condemning the rest in the weighing room to what will forever be known as the ‘McCoy Era’ – that is to say, supremely talented jockeys cursed to have been the contemporaries of the most gifted practitioner in the sport’s history.

Dickie (below) hasn’t ridden loads for us because he is so committed elsewhere, but he has had a few winners for us. Aside from being an exemplary horseman, he is just one of the nicest people – a lovely, down-to-earth person. I’ve yet to meet a single soul who has a bad word to say about him.

Honestly, you could not have wished for a better result. Everyone hoped that it would happen the way it has for him this season – and it has been brilliant.

Like AP before him, he might prefer home and hearth to the treacherous rock-face of celebrity status, but he is not ready for the pipe and slippers just yet.

It doesn’t stop us looking to the future, though. Who will follow in his footsteps?

Obviously, Aidan Coleman is a very good jockey and massively determined. He is a great rider and a really nice guy. He is very good at talking to owners and he could be the next champion after Richard.

Gavin Sheehan is riding plenty of winners and massively hungry for success. He could also make his mark.

Sam Twiston-Davies is with a powerful stable and he is obviously another likely contender.

It could well become a very interesting and more open title tussle in the next few years, but I can’t see Dickie retiring in the very near future and I hope he doesn’t.

Now he’s got to where he wants to be, he deserves a little bit of time at the top.

Today, we run Fox Appeal (3.05 Newbury) in a 2m4f handicap chase. I just don’t think he’d been properly staying three miles, so we’ve dropped him back in trip and put him in a less competitive race than previously. He would be an interesting candidate.

Court By Surprise (4.20 Ascot) goes in the veterans’ handicap chase. They went too quick for him at Doncaster in January and this is an ideal prep race for the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown.

On Monday, Fortunate George (2.40 Wincanton) should take some beating in the 2m5f handicap hurdle if replicating the form he showed at Taunton last time. It looks like it could be quite a competitive race so there should be some value there.

Next week is Aintree and, if he gets in, the plan all along has been the Topham for Gullinbursti (4.05 Aintree, Friday). He has really come back to himself and I think is tailor-made for those fences.

For the Lavelle Lucky 15 today, I’m putting faith in Dickie and going for Jaboltiski (4-.15 Newbury) to make it three out of four over hurdles. The Philip Hobbs yard may also score with Aston Cantlow (2.05 Uttoxeter), who should be able to gain a first British success if replicating his last run at Sandown.

Jennie Candlish’s string is in good heart and Bryden Boy (4.20 Uttoxeter), a beaten favourite last time, may make amends in the 2m4f handicap hurdle.

Finally, Isaacstown Lad (2.20 Kelso) seeks to make it three out of three at the track and gets weight from all his rivals in the competitive 3m2f handicap hurdle.

Summer loving? Give it a rest

RICHARD JOHNSON’S title will take time to sink in, but he will have barely a few hours to celebrate it – for the relentless Jumps season starts almost as soon as it ends.

We might have a whole three days off!

Perhaps we need to re-think the amount of racing and certainly discuss a proper break of some description. To a degree, freelance jockeys can take time off when it suits them. Yet in practice, if there are rides going, no-one wants to risk missing them.

I absolutely get summer jumping and the reasons behind it – especially on the back of such a wet winter like we’ve just had. If you have a good-ground horse, you’ve got to have the opportunity to run them at some stage.

Yet I feel there should be some significant period when there isn’t any racing – a fortnight or something – and I think there is a groundswell in favour of a break.

Perhaps there should be a week’s break after the end of the season, just to give everyone a proper launch date.

And also there should be a break in mid-summer, out of the school-holiday period, where jockeys who haven’t got children, can go away and not have to pay extortionate airline and hotel surcharges.

Personally, I’ve got no issue with a week or two-week break in late August or early September, where everyone can get away.

But for now, it is noses to the grindstone. Enjoy those three days off. Don’t celebrate too hard, Dickie!

Emma Lavelle is Jumps Racing Ambassador for Bet4Causes, where 20% of the bookmaker’s net profits go to sporting charities: Greatwood, Street Games and World Horse Welfare.