Richard Johnson yesterday admitted that the rider who gets the job as Martin Pipe's new stable jockey would be "a very lucky" man. Tony McCoy has left the position he held at Pond House for eight years to become number one to Jonjo O'Neill leaving a vacancy at Pipe's championship-winning yard.
For many, Johnson, McCoy's long-time championship rival, would seem the most likely contender for the position at Pipe's yard. Johnson, who rides mainly for the Philip Hobbs yard, has finished second to McCoy in the title race seven times and he said the Pipe job would be a good opportunity for any jockey.
"It'll be a great job for somebody. Mr Pipe has been champion trainer for a long, long time and I'm sure he's not going to be knocked off his pedestal for a long time still," Johnson said.
"Whoever gets the job will be a very lucky man. It's definitely one of the best jobs in the country. He's champion trainer again this year and that speaks for itself."
Johnson admitted his surprise at the news but still thinks nine-times champion McCoy is the one to beat again this season. "Obviously Tony has been offered a very good deal to leave, he wouldn't have otherwise. Jonjo's is an up-and-coming yard and they are obviously getting bigger and better horses all the time. I think the quality there is going to be very high.
McCoy is looking forward to the challenge of a new job at O'Neill's Jackdaws Castle yard but he did admit it had been a real wrench to leave Pipe. He said: "Martin was gutted and so was I. It's the end of a great relationship, but this new move is something which excites me.
"I'm the greatest sleeper, but since I knew it was happening, even I couldn't sleep. It was not about money, but a different challenge and a different way of life, and if we can build Jackdaws Castle into something out of the ordinary, it will be fantastic."
McCoy realises that without the backing of Pipe, who supplied 116 of his 209 winners last season, he will be facing an uphill battle in the jockeys' title but he is not prepared to relinquish his crown yet.
"I realise that the concept of riding 300 winners in a season is now hard to grasp, but my ambition is still to be the champion jockey, and I believe I can achieve it," he explained.
"I'm looking forward to what lies ahead of me, and I want to make it all happen again, but from a different area of the jumping game." McCoy believes Pipe, who is approaching his 60th birthday, will carry on with his success story for years to come even though the rider will no longer be at his side.
