At the time of his retirement, on April 9, 1985, John Francome was the most successful National Hunt jockey in British history. His career total of 1,138 winners has, of course, since been eclipsed by Sir Anthony McCoy and many others, but, at the time, beat the previous record, 1,035 winners, set by Stan Mellor, who retired from the saddle at the end of 1971/72 season. Indeed, Francome had held the record since winning on Don’t Touch at Fontwell the previous May, at which point he said, ‘I dare say Peter Scudamore or someone else will do me, but it is nice to hold the record, even if it is for just a couple of years’. Many punters on the look out for UK free bets will have appreciated Francome’s winning performances over the years.
By that stage of his career, Francome was already contemplating retirement and informed his principal employer, Fred Winter – whom he had joined, as a conditional jockey, in 1969 – that the 1984/85 National Hunt season would be his last. Francome had his last ride on The Reject, trained by Winter, at Chepstow and, having parted company with his mount at an open ditch, found himself in a potentially life-threatening position, with his foot trapped in a stirrup iron by a twisted stirrup leather. He later explained his split-second decision to retire, with immediate effect, saying, ‘Luckily, I grabbed the reins before he [The Reject] could go anywhere, otherwise it would have been good night. I quit there and then.’
All told, Francome won the Jump Jockeys’ Championship seven times, in 1975/1976, 1978/79 five years running between 1980/81 and 1984/85. In 1981/82, he famously shared the title with the aforementioned Peter Scudamore, having stopped riding once he drew level with his injured rival. His notable winners included Midnight Court in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1978, Sea Pigeon in the Champion Hurdle in 1982 and Wayward Lad and Burrough Hill Lad, both in the King George VI Chase, in 1982 and 1984 respectively.
