Richard Johnson's title hopes not over yet despite injury says Tom Scudamore

Richard Johnson’s hopes of being crowned champion jump jockey for a fifth time may not yet be over according to Tom Scudamore, who reflected on his father’s comeback from a broken leg to secure the title almost 30 years ago.

Johnson broke his arm at Exeter on Tuesday after being unseated and trampled on and is facing a spell on the sidelines. He is currently three wins behind title rival Brian Hughes.

But Scudamore believes a comeback from Johnson could happen and that it would be unwise to rule it out.

"Obviously it’s bad news for him but at this stage we’re all guessing at how long he’ll be out for," said Scudamore.

"It all depends on how the break is, but you can be operated on and back within a month. If you get a bit of cold weather and there’s no racing for a week, it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility."

Brian Hughes (left) is currently three winners ahead of Richard Johnson in the championship raceCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Scudamore knows all about comeback stories. As a child he witnessed his father and eight-time champion jockey Peter Scudamore, bounce back from a broken leg to pip Richard Dunwoody for the title in the 1990-91 season.

He added: "I remember when I was growing up, Dad broke his leg in November but was back in front again by the end of the Cheltenham Festival having missed two months of the season. He was behind Dunwoody but managed to catch up.

"All Richard will be worried about is getting better and I wouldn’t have thought he’d be throwing in the towel just yet. He’ll be concentrating on getting better again and start rehabbing as soon as possible. There’s no reason why he won’t be on an exercise bike from today!"

Following Johnson's injury, it remains to be seen who will ride 2018 Gold Cup hero Native River in the Denman Chase at Newbury on February 8.

Richard Johnson won the 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup with Native RiverCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

The Colin Tizzard-trained ten-year-old has won two of the last three runnings of the race and had Aidan Coleman in the saddle for his 2017 success, the only time Johnson has not ridden Native River since April 2016.

"We’ll have the discussion about who rides Native River once we’re ready to," said Tizzard. "We’ll think about it and have to ask someone to do it I suppose. It’s in our minds at the moment."

Tom O’Brien is now number-one rider for Philip Hobbs and has seen his number of rides increase, coming in to take four of Johnson’s mounts at Warwick on Wednesday including 3m2f handicap hurdle winner Golden Sovereign.

The jockey said: "It’s not a nice way to pick up rides but with Richard getting injured there may be some more opportunities for me.

"I’ve been a part of the Hobbs team for a long time and we’re good friends, so to see him break his arm when he’s fighting out the championship, I feel for him."

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