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photo courtesy Chris pitt
The son of a coach painter, Ernest Johnson was born in Sunderland on January 9th,1948. His mother was Greek; his uncle was a champion jockey in Greece.When his parents went to live in Cirencester, Ernie worked at a local riding school before becoming apprenticed at Kingsclere. He was given a greek name.
Ernie's height was 5 ft 1 inch.
He set out to be a jockey at the Kingsclere stable of Captain Peter Hastings-Bass; however, when Hastings-Bass died in 1964, his indentures were transferred to the new trainer, Ian Balding.
His first winner was Abel at York on March 18, 1965.
Just two years later, Johnson was champion apprentice with 39 winners, and one of the best lightweights in the country. One of his wins that year had come on Ovaltine in the Ebor Handicap.
Ian Balding was of the opinion that Johnson would not get enough riding opportunities at Kingsclere and it was agreed that his indentures should be passed on to Sam Hall in Middleham.
It proved a good moved for Johnson. In 1969 he was given the ride on Blakeney in the Epsom Derby. He rose magnificently to the occasion, winning by a length. In 1972 he almost made it a double, losing out by a short head on Rheingold to Roberto, ridden by an unstoppable Lester Piggott.
Johnson was now riding for Barry Hills, the trainer of Rheingold. He rode some good winners for the stable, notably Enstone Spark (1,000 Guineas, 1978), Proverb (Goodwood Cup) and Princess of Man (Musidora Stakes), yet, despite this success, he was constantly replaced with 'big-name' jockeys and eventually he left.
On August 26, 1977, he took a terrible fall at from Courjet at Newmarket when being thrown into an out-of-use starting gate. He received multiple fractures of the leg and shoulder injuries which put him out of action for many months.
His best season, numerically, came in 1978 with 86 winners. Good races he won included the Ebor again in 1968 on Alignment, Cesarewitch (Boismoss), Portland Handicap (Gold Pollen), Middle Park (Huntercombe), Ayr Gold Cup (Blue Cashmere), Chester Cup (Super Nova) and the Stewards' Cup (Jimmy the Singer).
In September 1974, he completed the feat of riding at least one winner on every racecourse in Britain.
A thoroughly underestimated jockey, he took a job in Ireland when opportunities dried up in England. He stayed a few months only before leaving to ride in the Far East.
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