Born on December 28, 1943, John Henry Worrall started his racing life with George Todd at Manton, a man associated more as a trainer of stayers on the Flat, and rode his hurdlers, achieving the first six of his career total of eight winners on horses trained by Todd. The first of those was on Jive, in a novice riders’ selling hurdle at Sandown Park on Saturday, January 14, 1961.
Johnny rode four winners the following season, the last being in March 1962 on a handicap hurdler named Popham Down, the horse who five years later would attain infamy as one of those responsible for causing the 23rd fence pile-up in Foinavon’s Grand National.
He had the final three winners from just 11 mounts in the 1962/63 campaign, firstly on Penharbour at Kempton in March, then on Abang in an Easter Monday selling hurdle at Chepstow, and finally on Toby Balding’s Early Snow in the Southover Handicap Hurdle, a race for claiming riders, at Plumpton on May 25, 1963.
Contrary to common belief, he is not the same Johnny Worrall who served for 35 years as Nicky Henderson’s travelling head lad and was an integral part of Henderson’s powerful training operation until his retirement in June 2010.
The Weatherbys Johnny Worrall Lifetime In Racing Beginners, Chase is run annually at Wincanton.
Johnny Worrall’s eight winners were, in chronological order:
1. Jive, Sandown Park, January 14, 1961
2. Nosey, Sandown Park, December 6, 1961
3. Sea Leopard, Sandown Park, February 9, 1962
4. Iron Blue, Newbury, February 14, 1962
5. Popham Down, Newbury, March 9, 1962
6. Penharbour, Kempton Park, March 16, 1963
7. Abang, Chepstow, April 15, 1963
8. Early Snow, Plumpton, May 25, 1963e