Johnson scorches to fastest 50 in quest for first title

Richard Johnson reached his quickest 50 in his quest to land his first jump jockeys’ championship when steering Easily Pleased to victory at Newton Abbot.

Johnson is setting a strong pace in his bid to succeed the retired Tony McCoy, to whom he finished second no less than 16 times in the title race.

In what is his best-ever start to a jumps campaign, Johnson reached the milestone on Easily Pleased (evens favourite) in the Francis Clark Handicap Chase.