Richard Johnson bracing himself for closest championship battle of the century

Richard Johnson and Brian Hughes are locked in the tightest jump jockeys' championship battle since the turn of the millennium, and the champion believes that this season’s clash could go right down to the wire.

The riders are sitting on 95 winners each with Hughes drawing level on Sunday after riding a four-timer at Carlisle, while Johnson was unable to respond having drawn a blank from three rides at Plumpton on Monday.

It is the closest the title race has been at this stage of the season since 2003-04, when Johnson trailed 20-time champion jockey Sir Anthony McCoy by three winners before going on to lose by 21.