article: In mathematical terms it means that he has ridden more winners than any other jockey this season. In the context of horse racing, and sport in general, it is a triumph of commitment and perseverance which may never be rivalled. Johnson has been trying to win it since the 1990s. It is his curse, and his blessing, that his career coincided with Sir Anthony (AP) McCoy. For 20 years in succession McCoy was champion. Throughout that time, almost every year, the man who finished behind him in second place was Richard Johnson. I met up with Richard Johnson in Somerset at the yard of trainer Philip Hobbs - their relationship has been an important part of the jockey's career. At 7.30 on an April morning Johnson was helping to school a group of the yard's horses, taking them over hurdles and fences on a field high above the Bristol Channel. In racing this might be termed 'work' but for Johnson, even at 38 years of age, he insists it is still pleasure. "This is all I've ever wanted to do so it's not a job. Unfortunately I'm going to have to get a job one day when I have to stop doing it, but genuinely you love doing it. I think the 'job' is the driving round, the long days, but riding the horses is the fun bit," he said. Media playback is not supported on this device "But for me being champion jockey was the thing I've always wanted to do since I was a child growing up. So I suppose actually to reach that goal is always what I wanted to do and there's a lot of satisfaction. "When AP McCoy retired at the end of last year I sort of thought, well I should be able to have a good chance at it. But there was a pressure. If I don't become champion jockey now maybe I'll not achieve what I wanted to. But the season's been absolutely amazing. My agent Dave Roberts works tirelessly to keep me busy and sends me round the country on a daily basis to hopefully achieve what I have." Roberts was McCoy's agent too and in simple terms Johnson has picked up rides this year which may have previously gone to McCoy. It's helped him dominate the Jockeys' Championship. In the history of jump racing McCoy is the only man to have ridden more than 4,000 winners. But only one other jockey has gone past 3,000 winners, and that's Johnson. When McCoy was riding in his first championship winning season in 1995, Johnson was in his first year as a conditional, or apprentice, jockey. For two decades they were in each other's company on almost a daily basis. The relationship was simultaneously bitter rivalry and deep appreciation. Johnson said: "I used to tell him regularly, you'd get to Christmas, I'd say to AP, 'just go on holiday for a couple of months, give me a bit more of a chance!' With our sport you can win the Gold Cup or the Grand National
summary: On Saturday at Sandown, Richard Johnson lifted the trophy confirming that he is jump racing's champion jockey.