John Francome facts for kids

John Francome (born December 13, 1952) is a famous retired jockey from Britain. He was a champion seven times in jump racing, which is a type of horse racing where horses jump over obstacles. After he stopped riding, he also worked as a horse trainer, a TV presenter, and wrote many books.

Racing Career Highlights

Becoming a Jockey

John Francome started riding horses very young. When he was six, he rode a pony named Black Beauty. He first became successful in show jumping, where horses jump over obstacles. He was even part of the British team that won the European Junior Show Jumping Championship!

In October 1969, John became an apprentice to a famous horse trainer named Fred Winter. His very first race was in December 1970 at Worcester Racecourse. He won that race on a horse called Multigrey. Soon after, in February 1971, he rode his first winner for Fred Winter on Osceola at Towcester Racecourse. He would go on to win 575 races for trainer Winter!

Winning Championships

John Francome won his first title as the British jump racing Champion Jockey in the 1975-1976 season. That same year, he won a big race called the Sun Alliance Chase at Cheltenham with his horse Pengrail.

In the 1977-1978 season, he won the Champion Jump Jockey title again. He also won the famous Cheltenham Gold Cup on Midnight Court. In 1981, he won the Stayers Hurdle by a huge distance (30 lengths!) on Derring Rose, also for trainer Winter.

Great Horses and Big Races

One of John Francome's most successful horses was Burrough Hill Lad, trained by Jenny Pitman. With this horse, John won several important races like the Welsh Grand National, the Hennessy Gold Cup, and the King George VI Chase.

He also had great success riding for trainer Michael Dickinson. He won the 1982 King George VI Chase on Wayward Lad. He also rode other famous horses like Silver Buck, Bregawn, and Flatterer.

Even though he had many wins in 'chases' (races with fences), John also won big hurdle races. He won the 1981 Champion Hurdle on the legendary horse Sea Pigeon.

Sharing a Title and Setting Records

In 1982, something special happened. John Francome was tied with another jockey, Peter Scudamore, for the Jump Jockeys Championship. When Peter Scudamore got injured, John decided to stop riding so they could share the title. This showed great sportsmanship!

In May 1984, John broke a record! He rode Don't Touch at Fontwell Park Racecourse to get his 1,035th win, passing Stan Mellor's old record.

Retirement and Legacy

John Francome retired from racing in 1985. He had ridden an amazing 1,138 winners in jump races in Britain! He also won the British Champion Jump Jockey title seven times.

To honor his amazing career, a race at Newbury was named after him in 2017: the John Francome Novices' Chase.

Major Race Wins

• Cheltenham Gold Cup - Midnight Court (1978)
• Sun Alliance Chase - Pengrail (1975), Brown Chamberlin (1982)
• Stayers Hurdle - Derring Rose (1981)
• Champion Hurdle - Sea Pigeon (1981)
• King George VI Chase - Wayward Lad (1982), Burrough Hill Lad (1984)

Cheltenham Festival Wins (5)

• Cheltenham Gold Cup - Midnight Court (1978)
• Sun Alliance Chase - Pengrail (1975), Brown Chamberlin (1982)
• Stayers Hurdle - Derring Rose (1981)
• Champion Hurdle - Sea Pigeon (1981)

Life After Racing

Author

After retiring from racing, John Francome became a writer. In 1986, he published his first storybook called Eavesdropper. He went on to write 24 more books! His most recent novel, Storm Rider, came out in 2010. He also wrote a book about his own life called Born Lucky in 1985.

Television Presenter

John Francome was also a well-known face on TV. He was part of the Channel 4 Racing team, where he would talk about horse races. He appeared on a weekly show called The Morning Line and also on race day broadcasts. He left his role in 2012.

Helping Jockeys

From 2012 to 2016, John Francome was the President of The Injured Jockeys Fund. This charity helps jockeys who have been hurt while racing. Since 2017, he has been a Vice Patron for the fund, working alongside other famous jockeys like AP McCoy and Frankie Dettori.

Personal Life

John Francome was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. In 1976, he married Miriam Strigner, but they later divorced in 1990. Did you know that Sam Ricketts, a former professional football player for Wales, is his nephew?

In 1986, John Francome was given a special honor called the MBE. This award was given to him "for services to National Hunt Racing," meaning for all his great contributions to jump racing.

John Francome also built and owns Beechdown Farm in Lambourn. This is a large stable and training center that can hold 96 horses! Today, Clive Cox is the main horse trainer working there.