Franny Norton is a Liverpudlian-born jockey who predominantly rides for Mark Johnston.
His walking around weight is 8 stones, so he is one of the lightest jockeys in the weighing room which gives him ample of opportunities in races where there are runners carrying a low weight.
Therefore, the majority of his wins come in handicap races, where he has registered 648 wins compared to 334 wins in Non-Handicap races.
He has had a long career and there is no sign that it is likely to end soon with more numerical winners in the last two seasons then the two before.
His best asset is dictating the pace of a race on horses that like to race from the front, the sharper the track the better he is able to execute those tactics and the course he is most associated with to deliver that strategy is at Chester. The top ten courses where he has had the most winners all happen to be on courses that negotiate a turn not long after they start.
You will often find him trying to get a horse to get moving more quickly than others soon after the gates open and then relax before kicking on in the home straight from the final bend to the winning post.
I’m usually interested in his mounts on these types of track, especially in sprint races with a favourable draw and if riding a Johnston runner that would get extra marks in my book.
These thoughts are backed up by the amount of winners he has had in sprint races compared to long distance staying races. From 55 rides in races of a distance of 17 furlongs and beyond, has seen him only win once whilst over the minimum trip he has recorded 153 wins, over five and half furlongs he holds a win strike rate of 17%, finally, over six furlongs he has had amassed over 200 winners to date.
Since most of his rides are derived from the Johsnton yard, he is well suited to how most of those horses are trained to run, often they try to make all or race prominently and they have a habit of doing well in a battle to win.