THE champion jockey and Chepstow Racecourse ambassador Richard Johnson has ridden thousands of winners but last Friday’s victory aboard Court Duty at Newton Abbot will probably last longer in his memory than some of the other successes over the years.

The horse in question is trained near Bridgend by John Flint.

Court Duty had won his previous outing at Uttoxeter and everything looked set for another victory at Newton Abbot as horse and jockey headed towards the last fence with a comfortable lead.

Then drama struck as Court Duty made a horrendous mistake and ploughed straight through the fence. Richard was thrown to the back end of the horse clinging on desperately to keep the partnership intact. How he stayed on is anyone’s guess. 99 out of 100 jockeys would have fallen off.

But somehow he did manage to stay in the saddle and then rousted his mount on the run-in to hold on for victory from Templepark. That is why Richard Johnson is champion jockey.

For trainer John Flint, Court Duty’s win was the start of a fantastic day.

He won another race on the card with hurdler Khismet and then Arabella Tucker, a key member of the team at John’s yard, won the charity race in aid of Racing Welfare. An eventful, successful and memorable day all wrapped up in one for Team Flint.

On Sunday, amateur Welsh jockey Isabel Williams, daughter of Vale of Glamorgan trainer Evan Williams, continued her rise up the ranks with a win at Market Rasen aboard Native Fighter for trainer Jedd O’Keeffe. Isabel has impressed plenty of good judges with her riding style and she looks to have a bright future in the saddle.

Another Welsh amateur rider in the news is teenager Jessica Llewellyn. She won the Ladies’ Derby at Epsom last week on Nabhan, trained by Bernard Llewellyn and owned by well-known Welsh businessmen Alex James and Gethyn Mills. A night most definitely to remember for young Jessica.

This Friday, there are race meetings at Chepstow and Ffos Las.

It’s Ladies Evening at Chepstow with 90s girl band All Saints performing live after racing, and at Ffos Las it’s Elvis Race Night, with one of the UK’s leading tribute acts, Suspiciously Elvis, playing after the last race.

Details of ticket and hospitality prices are available on both racecourse websites.