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John Francome MBE (born 13 December 1952) is a retired 7 time British Champion Jump Jockey.

John Francome MBE
Occupation	Jockey Broadcaster Author
Born	(1952-12-13) 13 December 1952 (age 69) Swindon, England
Career wins	1,138
Major racing wins
Cheltenham Gold Cup, Stayers' Hurdle, Champion Hurdle, King George VI Chase, Sun Alliance Chase
Honours
MBE British Champion Jump Jockey (7 times) RTS Best Sports Pundit (2004)

In addition to being a successful jockey, Francome was previously a racing trainer, broadcaster with Channel 4 and an author.

Racing career

Francome first rode a pony called Black Beauty at the age of six. His first riding successes came as a showjumper, and was a member of the team that won the European Junior Show Jumping Championship for Great Britain.

Francome's father secured a meeting with trainer Fred Winter and he became an apprentice in October 1969. His first race ride came at Worcester in December 1969, a race he won riding Multigrey trained by Godfrey Burr. In February 1970, Francome rode his first of 575 winners for trainer Winter on Osceola at Towcester. Osbaldeston was an early success story for the Francome/Winter partnership, notching up 17 victories.

Francome won his first British Champion Jump Jockey title in the 1975/76 season. The same year he secured his first Grade 1 victory in the Sun Alliance Chase at Cheltenham with Pengrail. On his way to the 1977/78 British Champion Jump Jockey title, he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Midnight Court. In 1981, he won the Stayers Hurdle on Derring Rose by 30 lengths again for Winter.

One of Francome's most successful horses was Burrough Hill Lad, trained by Jenny Pitman. Francome took victories in the Welsh Grand National, Hennessy Gold Cup and King George VI Chase. At the 1984 Gold Cup, Francome could not ride Burrough Hill Lad due to his retainer with Winter, and finished second with Brown Chamberlin - a horse he had won both the Sun Alliance Chase and Hennessy Gold Cup on. Alongside riding for Pitman, Francome had success riding for Michael Dickinson, successes on Wayward Lad in the 1982 King George VI Chase and also on Silver Buck, Bregawn and Flatterer.

Whilst many top successes came in Chases, Francome had success over hurdles with Sea Pigeon winning the 1981 Champion Hurdle.

During the 1982 season, Francome stopped riding once he drew level with competitor, Peter Scudamore, in the Jump Jockeys Championship as Scudamore was injured. The two shared the title.[1] Francome broke Stan Mellor's record of 1035 wins on Don't Touch at Fontwell in May 1984.[2]

In 1985, Francome retired and had ridden 1,138 winners over jumps in Britain and a total of seven British Champion Jump Jockey Titles.[3][4][5][6]

The John Francome Novices' Chase at Newbury was named after him in 2017.[7]

Major wins

Great Britain

• Cheltenham Gold Cup - Midnight Court (1978)
• Sun Alliance Chase - Pengrail (1975), Brown Chamberlin (1982)
• Stayers Hurdle - Derring Rose (1981)
• Champion Hurdle - Sea Pigeon (1981)
• King George VI Chase - Wayward Lad (1982), Burrough Hill Lad (1984)

Cheltenham Festival winners (5)

• Cheltenham Gold Cup - Midnight Court (1978)
• Sun Alliance Chase - Pengrail (1975), Brown Chamberlin (1982)
• Stayers Hurdle - Derring Rose (1981)
• Champion Hurdle - Sea Pigeon (1981)

Controversies

Francome had several controversial moments during his riding career. In 1978 he was suspended for 35 days for passing information to bookmaker, John Banks.[8] He once famously referred to the racing stewards as "Cabbage Patch Dolls".[6]

Career after racing

Writer

In 1986, Francome published his first fictional novel Eavesdropper. He went on to write a further 24 books. His most recent novel was Storm Rider published in 2010.[9] His autobiography Born Lucky was published in 1985.[10]

Bibliography

Francome's fictional books:

Title	Publication Date	ISBN
Eavesdropper	1986	0-356-12744-3
Riding High	1987	0-356-14558-1
Declared Dead	1988	0-7472-0087-4
Blood Stock	1989	0-7472-0129-3
Stone Cold	1990	0-7472-0227-3
Stud Poker	1991	0-7472-0390-3
Rough Ride	1992	0-7472-0566-3
Outsider	1993	0-7472-0749-6
Break Neck	1994	0-7472-1032-2
Dead Ringer	1995	0-7472-1264-3
False Start	1996	0-7472-1653-3
High Flyer	1997	0-7472-1896-X
Safe Bet	1998	0-7472-2133-2
Tip Off	1999	0-7472-2134-0
Lifeline	2000	0-7472-7239-5
Dead Weight	2001	0-7472-7241-7
Inside Track	2002	0-7553-0060-2
Stalking Horse	2003	0-7553-0668-6
Back Hander	2004	0-7553-0681-3
Cover Up	2005	0-7553-2690-3
Winner Takes All	2006	0-7553-2948-1
Dark Horse	2007	978-0-7553-4703-2
Final Breath	2008	978-0-7553-3728-6
Deadly Finish	2009	978-0-7553-4990-6
Storm Rider	2010	978-0-7394-3069-9

Francome's non fiction books:

Title	Publication Date	ISBN
Born Lucky	1986	978-0-5521-3070-7
Twice Lucky	1988	978-0-7472-3382-4

Broadcaster

Francome was a member of the Channel 4 Racing television broadcast team. He appeared on the weekly show The Morning Line and also on race day broadcasts. In 2012, when Channel 4 Racing changed production companies from Highflyer to IMG, Francome left his role.[11][12]

Injured Jockeys Fund

Between 2012 and 2016, Francome was the President of The Injured Jockeys Fund. From 2017, he became a Vice Patron alongside fellow jockeys AP McCoy and Frankie Dettori.[13][14]

Personal Life

Francome was born in Swindon, Wiltshire. In 1976 he married Miriam Stringer. The couple divorced in 1990.[15] Sam Ricketts, the former professional footballer for Wales is his nephew.[16]

In 1986, Francome was awarded an MBE for services to horse racing.[17]

Francome built and owns Beechdown Farm in Lambourn, a stableyard and training facility that can house 96 horses. Clive Cox is currently the resident racing trainer.[18][19]

References

Awards
Preceded by Michael Johnson	RTS Television Sport Awards Best Sports Pundit 2004	Succeeded by Martin Brundle

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