John Francome was a successful national hunt jockey, who has now transitioned into a popular racing presenter. Born in Decmber 1952 in Wiltshire, Francome is one of those who found racing ‘the hard way’. There was no line of jockeys, trainers or owners in his family, it was a case of finding his own way through luck as much as anything else – because he didn’t have an instant interest in racing, it was more about making ends meet.
“I’d done a bit of work in a car repair factory, but he advertised for stable lads and I went along. If it hadn’t worked out I’d have gone back to working on cars or a career in building. It was just that Lambourn was close to where I lived in Swindon, so off I went at 16. I’d have struggled to name a jockey, I just wasn’t interested. ” recalled Francome earlier this year.
Starting out as an apprentice for Fred Winter, it was quickly clear that Francome had an aptitude for the sport of horse racing. This quickly led to him becoming one of the most successful national hunt jockeys there ever was (even though a Grand National win remained sadly elusive for him). Memorable wins include a Cheltenham Gold Cup victory in 1978 on the heavily backed Midnight Court. In total he racked up 1138 wins over his career and was Champion Jockey on a multitude of occasions.
Following his successeful career in racing, Francombe went on to present for Channel 4. This enabled him to keep in the mix and a part of something that played such an important part of his life for so long. Now also an author, Francome was awarded an MBE in the mid 80s, which goes to show how respected he is in the sport. Newbury racecourse even named a race after him last year – the John Francome Novices’ Chase.
