Richard Fulke Johnson Houghton (born 1940) is a British retired

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

. He trained over 1,200 winners in a career which lasted from 1961 until 2006. The best of his horses included Ribocco, Ribero,

Habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, Rose Bowl, Ile de Bourbon and Double Form.

Background

Johnson Houghton was born in 1940 to the trainer Gordon Johnson Houghton and his wife

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

. He was named after his mother's twin brother

Fulke Walwyn Fulke Thomas Tyndall Walwyn CVO (8 November 1910 – 18 February 1991) was a British jockey and a celebrated racehorse trainer, who was particularly successful in National Hunt racing. Life Walwyn was born in Wrexham. His twin sister, Helen Jo ...

. Johnson Houghton was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

before working as an assistant trainer in Britain and France. When Gordon Johnson Houghton died in 1952 Helen took over the Woodway stable at Blewbury in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

but under Jockey Club rules, women were not allowed to hold a training licence. She therefore managed the yard through assistants including Charles Jerdein and

Peter Walwyn Peter Tyndall Walwyn, (1 July 1933 – 7 December 2017) was a British racehorse trainer. He was based at stables in the Lambourn, Berkshire, area and enjoyed his period of greatest success in the mid-1970s when he was British flat racing Cham ...

. When Walwyn set up his own stable in 1961 the 20-year-old Fulke, then working on a cattle farm in Australia, was recalled to England to take over the licence at Woodway.

Training career

At the start of his career, Johnson Houghton was the youngest licensed trainer in Britain. His first major patron was the American businessman

Charles Engelhard Charles W. Engelhard Jr. (February 15, 1917 – March 2, 1971) was an American businessman, a major owner in Thoroughbred horse racing, and a candidate in the 1955 New Jersey State Senate Elections. He controlled an international mining and meta ...

for whom he trained in the 1960s. In the second year of his training career, he sent out Engelhard's colt Romulus to win the

Greenham Stakes The Greenham Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 7 furlongs () at Newbury in ...

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

and

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is s ...

. Later in the decade he had further success for Englehard as he trained the brothers Ribocco, Ribero and Ribofilio. The first two both won the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance ...

and the

St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

whilst Ribofilio won the

Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres ...

before running badly when favourite for the 1969 2000 Guineas: Johnson Houghton maintained that the horse had been "got at" and doped before the race. In the same year Johnson Houghton won a series of top mile races with

. In the 1970s Johnson Houghton trained the leading sprinters Parsimony ( July Cup,

Cork and Orrery Stakes The Platinum Jubilee Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. Three-year-olds foaled in the Southern Hemisphere are also eligible. It is run at ...

) and Double Form as well as the outstanding racemare Rose Bowl. In 1977 he narrowly failed to win The Derby when Hot Grove was beaten in a

photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

The Minstrel The Minstrel (11 March 1974 – 3 September 1990) was a Canadian-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Bred in Ontario, he was sold as a yearling and exported to Europe, where he was campaigned in Ireland and the United Kin ...

. In the following year Johnson Houghton sent out Ile de Bourbon to record an upset victory in the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot o ...

. Johnson Houghton had less success in the later half of his career but he continued to train some good horses. He won the Cork and Orrery Stakes with Posada in 1988 and trained Ruling to finish third in two editions of the

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a ...

. His last top-class performer was Tout Seul who won the Dewhurst Stakes in 2002. Johnson Houghton announced his retirement in 2006 after a 45-year training career which saw him win over 1,200 races.

Family

Johnson Houghton married Gaie Goldsmith, the daughter of trainer John Goldsmith. His daughter Eve took over his stable on his retirement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson Houghton, Fulke British racehorse trainers People educated at Eton College 1940 births Living people Walwyn family