Johnson says Lambourn trainer Derham will be a star of the future

AHEAD of the Cheltenham Festival next week, legendary former champion jockey Richard Johnson has picked out Lambourn trainer Harry Derham to be the next big thing in the racing training ranks.

In his first full season as a trainer out of his base in Lambourn, Derham has rapidly risen up the ranks having previously been assistant trainer to 14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls in Somerset.

Derham has been tipped by Johnson to be the up-and-coming trainer to take over the dominant mantle from Irish powerhouse trainer Willie Mullins in the future, with Mullins an overwhelming favourite to be named champion trainer at the Festival this year with Betfair.

Johnson told The Winners Enclosure: “It’s not an easy route to go down to decide you want to be a trainer, financially it’s a very brave thing to do.

“There’s an awful lot of young trainers out there, but Harry Derham is up there.

“He only trained his first winner on Boxing Day 2022, so in just over 12 months he’s come a hugely long way, so he’s one of the future stars.

“You need a bit of luck – I didn’t realise that when I first started riding.

“I thought that the fitter you got them, the more races they’d win.

“But now as I’m a bit older I realise that if the horse isn’t healthy, it doesn’t matter how good they are they won’t win.”

With the Festival getting under way in the West Country next week, Johnson believes the meeting needs to be more accessible to the casual punter.

Ticket sales are reported to be lower than expected for the four-day bonanza as the cost of living crisis bites.

Johnson added: “It needs to be a family event – if you look at football or rugby, you often see whole families going, not just one generation.

“So, I think that if you can get everybody to come, then that will filter down and everyone enjoys it.

“Cheltenham is an expensive day out. You’re there all day and you can go racing every day of the week for a lot less.

“You’ve just got to try and make it accessible for a lot of people – it doesn’t matter if you’re barely walking or barely able to walk, you should try and get as many people there as possible.”