Dunwoody in awe of 'phenomenal' Johnson Former champion jockey Richard Dunwoody says Richard Johnson should be hailed "a superstar" of the sport and would have made the late, great trainer David Nicholson proud. Johnson, 38, was crowned champion jumps jockey for the first time at Sandown on Saturday after two decades of Sir Anthony McCoy dominance. Having finished runner-up 16 times in the jockeys' title race, Johnson could have been forgiven for thinking his chance had gone. But he ended his 20th consecutive season with over 100 victories as champion, and even surpassed the 200-winner mark for the first time in his career. He has ridden over 3,000 career winners, eclipsing the tallies posted by Dunwoody and Peter Scudamore, and took his score to 235 for the season when partnering Menorah to victory in the Grade Two Oaksey Chase at the Esher course. Injury forced three-times champion Dunwoody to quit the saddle prematurely, which led to a 20-year dominance for AP McCoy, who retired at the end of last season. Dunwoody said: "It is tremendous for Dicky (Johnson). I don't think there has been a more worthy or popular champion. "To have ridden as many winners as he has is phenomenal. To ride that many when AP was at his peak for all these years is astounding. "If AP had not been around, we'd be hailing Dicky as a superstar, and I think he is. "In terms of the number of career winners, I scraped past Scu (Peter Scudamore), but Dicky has more than doubled our tally and that's absolutely phenomenal. "And let's not forget that AP may not have pushed himself so hard and for so long had Dicky not been around." The title is Johnson's first since winning the conditional jockeys' championship in 1995, having cut his teeth under the intimidating gaze of Nicholson. 'The Duke', who died in August 2006 at the age of 67, produced a conveyor belt of riding talent, with Scudamore, Dunwoody and Adrian Maguire all household names. Johnson continues that lineage, having replaced Maguire as Nicholson's number-one jockey in the mid-90s. Dunwoody added: "The Duke thought the world of Dicky and he rode one of his first winners at the Festival for him. "He would have been absolutely delighted for him. "And I'm sure The Duke would have been equally delighted to tell everyone that two of the last three champion jockeys rode for him!"
