NFL star Johnson leaves horse trailing in his wake

CHAD JOHNSON got a head start without having to jump offside, and beat his coverage to the goal line again.

The Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver was waiting at the finish line when Restore the Roar arrived at the end of his one-eighth-mile gallop.

That’s right: Johnson raced a horse on Saturday and easily won.

Johnson was spotted in a 100-metre lead — roughly about half the distance the horse had to cover in the race for charity. And when it was over, Johnson, as usual, was anything but humble.

He sounded ready to take on boxing, basketball and NASCAR.

“Floyd Mayweather, you’re next,” Johnson said. “I want to fight you. I’d like to take Kobe and LeBron one-on-one. Jeff Gordon, we can take a couple laps. ... Now it’s my time to take over the race world.”

The 4-year-old colt’s jockey, PJ Cooksey, rode a horse that beat former Bengals receiver Cris Collinsworth in 1993. She sounded more impressed with Johnson’s speed.

“He’s quick,” Cooksey said. “He’s a fast man. That was phenomenal. When I looked over at him, all I could see were his legs; they looked like a windmill. He was a blur. I was beat bad.”