John Francome

"How can I know sitting here that he's on a nice long stride when he doesn't?" he asks incredulously after watching a well-known senior jockey misjudge a flight in a novice hurdle. The individual in question is not a lone offender.

"Shocking," he says when asked how best to describe the current crop of jockeys. "Half of them can't ride. They know how to push a horse but they wouldn't know how to make one go through a puddle.

Would be interesting to know his choice for CH in the Champion Hurdle.

Coming from a successful Show Jumping background certainly helped him see a stride better than many and he was an extremely stylish jockey.
However,he had his fair share of falls the same as the others.
Now as he has got older he never rides a bad race from his armchair like most of us and has become more eccentric.
Always worth a listen

Cobden on go west i think for nicholls yesterday,i think he closed his eyes approaching every fence,the horse was taking off when it fancied.

Please feel free to enlighten me how any jockey ever born could have prevented Go West from taking off a stride too early,nineteen?

Please feel free to enlighten me where i said Go west took off a stride too early,uptheirons?

Good to hear a top jockey like himself call out the present standard. Only absolute apologists or those who need us to believe racing is currently great to make money would say otherwise.

"the horse was taking off when it fancied."

How would you have prevented this,nineteen?

.

nineteen points 22 Feb 26 11:38 
Cobden on go west i think for nicholls yesterday,i think he closed his eyes approaching every fence,the horse was taking off when it fancied.


On the Unbridled podcat a couple of months back Francome said, "There is an endless list of really good jockeys, there is no shortage of really good jockeys but you can't go without the horse and two of his favourites are Cobden and Deutsch, Callum Bewley Harry Bannister, Skelton, Quinlan, all came in for praise, reitterated that if you swapped Bowen and Townend around there wouldn't be a winner between them, it's all about the opportunity to ride good horses.

Anybody who thinks that Cobden would close his eyes at a fence is a lunatic.
He didn't get the JP job by accident.

Good afternoon Saxon

Thanks for posting as I wouldn’t have got the paper today if you hadn’t as you say an excellent interview,I could listen to him all day what a great human he is.

How on earth was he allowed to leave horse racing ? Not that it would bother him.

how did jonjo jnr get it ?

He rides his Fathers horses.
There is a difference,1st timer

Harry Cobden: Interview with Britain’s Top Champion Jump Jockey

As the lead jockey for Paul Nicholls – Britain’s most successful trainer – trusted with some of his biggest stars, how do you balance responsibility with the confidence needed to deliver at the highest level?

I try not to over complicate things or try to be too clever. Pressure can easily get to you, so you have to stay calm and whatever the occasion, I approach it the same and try and keep things simple.

Many speak of your tactical genius in the saddle. How do you prepare psychologically before a Grade 1 race to achieve such precision under pressure?

I do my homework. Knowing other people’s horses is as important as knowing my own – so how the race is likely to pan out. I think one of my key skills is anticipating how a race is likely to be run, and reading the race. If I get my fractions right and ride a race to suit myself, I ride at my peak. And when I am unsure of whether to go long or short at a fence, I just close my eyes

A tongue in cheek remark,Busy.
A bit like saying all scousers are thieves

So your saying Mr Cobden presented Go West perfectly at every fence uptheirons?

I am assuming that you have never ridden a race horse,nineteen.
The horse lacked confidence throughout,culminating in taking off a stride too early.
I will repeat that no jockey ever born could prevent a horse from guessing at a fence or hurdle

Francome should spit the names out…..

Good morning jimnast.

Glad you enjoyed the interview.  Similarly with Sir Mark Prescott and Ted Walsh, I could listen to Francome until the cows come home!

So is that not what i said uptheirons? You have just tried to correct me with a reason which i originally said.How strange.Are you just confrontational by nature?

John Francombe when riding years ago his FORTE was best,  "best presenter of a horse to a fence" was well  documented. Over my years "watching" racing in my top five.

Good call Saxon with tw and mp I would be the same .other than wizard king I never got a Prescott horse right but the minute he starts talking I start smiling that can’t be bad.

Are suggesting that Cobden was at fault on that ride,nineteen?
No waffling please and a simple yes or no will suffice.
I am stating that he wasn't.

uptheirons 22 Feb 26 21:58 
I am assuming that you have never ridden a race horse,nineteen.

.........................

You ask this of people almost weekly, so I assume,
by extension, that you have. It would certainly explain
your symptoms of Napoleon complex.

nineteen points • February 22, 2026 11:38 AM GMT
Cobden on go west i think for nicholls yesterday,i think he closed his eyes approaching every fence,the horse was taking off when it fancied.

That utterly ridiculous post was the reason for my asking the question,saddo.

If I posted that it was Monday today you would try to find fault,saddo

I was saying he must of closed his eyes as whatever he was trying made no difference to the horses jumping.i should of added he probably had his fingers crossed and his rosary beads out as well.However i didnt realise my post was going to be scrutinised forensically by ex champion jockeys and olymipic show jumpers.To your question about ever riding a horse,yes we used to ride the ponies from the face, back by.

Thanks for the reply,nineteen.
Sometimes things go wrong from the start and it gets worse as the race goes on.
The horse just took off two strides too soon and that was that

My favourite quip from JF was when one of the Morning line team(possibly D Thompson) said what a great runner Charlie Brooks must be to run a Marathon. Straight as a fleash JF said, he is a great runner, he ran off with my wife!

Dear old Mims

He certainly is the best NH jockey I know. I can relate to his preference to be away from the horsey people unless it's an absolute must or invited (officially).

isn't it all people ?

Remember gambas seldom did a week go by without him coming out with something funny ,we didn’t know how lucky we were to have the morning line back then,just look at what we have now across all channels.

They got "Cancelled" by the politically correct lunatics,jimnast.

Yes they did uptheirons no return unfortunately from the situation we have got ourselves into although possibly some improvement at some stage.

Not whilst the mindless masses watch Love Island,Big Brother etc

Remember meeting him in the toilets at the Birdlip pub
After Chelters racing
Was driving a black Porsh

Imsolucky

When channel 4 were covering York and Newmarket we would stay at the same hotel sadly the one in York has gone,jf had a pleasant word for all the guest and a smile always very smart as I said earlier on the thread a good human.

Uptheirons

Utter rubbish those two programmes whilst I can to an extent see why young people watch love island however anybody who watches big brother should be marched of to rampton.

I can imagine anyoldiron watching silly island tbh……

I have never watched any of them,jimnast.
The adverts are enough for any sane person to make a judgement

JF fav statement as trainers knock on handicappers door, THE CAPTAIN,KEVIN BLAKE  and JOSH KERR and co measuring horses strides,jumps,mtime in air etc etc,francome used to say every week WHATS 7LB its one decent jump, there trainers  /punters/pundits doing laps of honours  when a horse get dropped a POUND,he,d be laughed out of town for statements like that today

Sir Henry also use to say if I can’t improve a horse 7lb or so I shouldn’t be training .

but that would mean he hasn't improved it a single LB unless he thinks non of the other trainers should be training as they've all improved there's 7LBS