AllSportsPeople caught up with the second most prolific winner in the history of National Hunt Racing just a few days before Cheltenham Trials Day 2026.
Richard Johnson is a legend of the sport — the four-time Champion Jockey is second only to Sir AP McCoy (4,348) for National Hunt winners with a staggering 3,805.
He won 23 times at the Cheltenham Festival including twice in the Gold Cup with Looks Like Trouble (2000) and Native River (2018). He also holds the record for most appearances in the Grand National.
So it's fair to say he's well placed to comment on all things Cheltenham before Trials Day, which falls at the perfect time for horses to get a last run-out before the Festival.
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He explained: "If you have got a real serious Festival contender then ideally you want to run between eight and four weeks beforehand — it depends on the horse."
Most of the betting interest for the day will centre around the Cotswold Chase, Cleeve Hurdle and the Unibet Hurdle — billed as a clash of the titans, Sir Gino vs. The New Lion.
Johnson said "the price is right" for the short-favourite Sir Gino but The New Lion doesn't have to win the race — he just "needs to show he is in that bracket". Either way, the race will have huge implications for betting on the Champion Hurdle on Day 1 at the Festival.
In the Cotswold Chase, Johnson believes that if Grey Dawning runs the same race as he did at Haydock then it "should be quite an easy opportunity for him".
Given that both Sir Gino and Grey Dawning are 1/2 at the time of writing, the bigger betting opportunity advised by Johnson is Impose Toi to win the Cleeve Hurdle.
He explained: "Impose Toi surprised me to be honest; he was always a good horse but he seems to have got better and better with each run — you couldn't have not been impressed last time out."
Nicky Henderson's charge is the favourite for the race but not a short one — he is 11/8 to win on Saturday and still 11/2 (Bet365) to win the Stayers' Hurdle at the Festival!
Backing Impose Toi in a three-fold acca with Sir Gino and Grey Dawning on Trials Day pays more than 4/1 on Bet365 at the time of writing!
A full transcript of the Richard Johnson interview will be published on AllSportsPeople this Friday, featuring more on Cheltenham Trials Day, as well as a preview of the Dublin Racing Festival, why he thinks the Brits are closing the gap on the Irish ahead of the Cheltenham Festival in March and his solution to Constitution Hill’s hurdling problems!
In the meantime, we've got a huge Wednesday betting offer. Back over 0.5 goals in Marseille vs. Liverpool today and get paid at 50/1 plus a £10 free bet for Cheltenham Trials Day.
MORE: How to claim the 50/1 Marseille vs. Liverpool and Cheltenham Trials Day offer