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Johnson eschews Lil opportunity
- Updated: December 14, 2016
In-demand Richard Johnson has chosen to partner Ballyoptic after being offered the mount on Lil Rockerfeller in the JLT Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday.
The champion jockey will take up the spare ride on the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Ballyoptic which came up for grabs due to the serious injuries suffered by Ryan Hatch at Cheltenham on Friday.
Johnson will be bidding to win the Grade One contest for the fifth time, after victories through Anzum (1996), Mighty Man (1999) and Reve De Sivola (2012 and 2013).
“I am very lucky to pick up Ryan Hatch’s spare ride on Ballyoptic. His bad luck has been my good luck. It is …
