Cover image courtesy of Trish Dunell
Peter Johnson rode 1370 winners in New Zealand and daughter Danielle recently hit the four-figure mark and is a certainty to claim her first Jockeys’ Premiership. She currently sits on 127 winners and 71 clear of closest rival Craig Grylls.
She will become the fourth woman to achieve the feat following on from Lisa Allpress in 2011/12, 2015/16, 2018/19 and 2019/20, Lisa Cropp for three consecutive seasons from 2004/05 and Sam Collett in 2017/18.
Danielle Johnson | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
“I can’t say I set too many goals, but this season my manager and I sat down and talked about winning the Premiership and what we needed to do to achieve that,” Johnson said.
“Our main aim when we came back from COVID was to go as hard as we could so I didn’t have to do all the travelling later on in the season when the tracks were heavy.
“It has been executed pretty well and I couldn’t be happier with my season and everything seems to be falling into place.”
“It has been executed pretty well and I couldn’t be happier with my season and everything seems to be falling into place.” – Danielle Johnson
Johnson, 29, briefly flirted with the idea of a career outside of racing before committing to the industry.
“I liked the idea of real estate at one stage, but my parents gave me the bug and I had days off school to go to the races with Dad,” she said.
“I was always riding my ponies and it all seemed pretty appealing. I wasn’t that fond of school and getting days off to go to the races was pretty cool.”
Johnson progressed to start her apprenticeship with the late Russell Cameron, who was then training in partnership with Gareth McRae.
“I started out riding trackwork for Richard Yuill when I was still at school and would do a few for Mum (Annabelle) and then I was with Russell when he moved to the Pukekohe track,” she said.
“When Russell moved back to Australia I transferred to Mum for the last two years.”
Wins to cherish
Johnson has half a-dozen top-flight winners to her credit and they have provided her career highlights thus far.
“Obviously it’s the Group 1s and the Karaka Million, we don’t get to race for NZ$1 million very often,” said Johnson who won the 2016 edition aboard the Stephen McKee-trained Xiong Feng (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}).
“My first Group 1 (Captain Cook S.) on Shuka at Trentham is one I’ll never forget. I’ve ridden some very good horses, but I don’t think I’ve ridden my champion yet – or I hope I haven’t.”
She will have a strong chance to add to her tally on Sunday when she partners Frontman (NZ) (Makfi {GB}) in the G1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby for trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman.
A brother to former star performer Bonneval (NZ), he was won once from three outings and last time out was runner-up against the older horses and gave the winner 2.5kg.
Frontman (NZ) | Image courtesy of Race Images
Johnson’s partner is Jamie Richards and she has ridden more than 50 winners for the Te Akau Head Trainer this season.
“It’s played into my hands with Opie (Bosson) coming into the season later and Troy (Harris), their other jockey, not able to ride as light as me,” she said.
Lucrative associations
She has also enjoyed a strong association with trainer Stephen Marsh with over 200 winners together while she has also been strongly backed by Peter and Dawn Williams, Westbury Stud’s Russell Warwick and Shaun and Emma Clotworthy.
“I’m grateful for the support of all the trainers and owners who put me on their horses,” Johnson said. "I’m pretty content here (New Zealand) and enjoy my life and have great people around me.
“However, I have always liked the thought of going to Asia in the winter and if I win the Premiership here it may open a door to Japan.
“I was invited to go and do the trip Lisa Allpress did to Saudi Arabia last year, but COVID denied that and that would really have topped off my season. I’m hoping the Japan trip that Sam Collett did last year might come about.”
