NZ record holder, "The Magic Man" was a gifted jockey who fought numerous demons, but always kept fighting

Chris Johnson, also known as "CWJ" or "The Magic Man", was a jockey in Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand. He is most notable for holding the national record for winning rides in New Zealand and for winning the New Zealand jockeys premiership twice. Chris Johnson was apprenticed to Woodville trainer Scott Hammersley. His first winner, Noble Star trained by Hammersley, was in his first raceday ride at Tauherenikau on New Year's Day 1981, as having ridden in 19,485 races, and won more than $31million in stakes. Johnson won his first New Zealand Premierships in the 1995–96 season with 139 wins and the 2017–18 season with 112 wins. Incredibly, unlike the majority of his contemporaries, Johnson was just as adept over the jumps as he was on the flat, displaying his determination and grit. He won several jumping features, including the Grand National Hurdles over 4200m at Riccarton Park Racecourse aboard Ampac in 1989, Woodbine Blue Chip in 1993 and Kid Colombus in 2011.

In total he has won 21 Group 1 races, including: the New Zealand Oaks five times, on Domino (1990), Tartan Tights (1996), Sawadtee (1997), Tycoon Lil (1998) and Savvy Coup (2018), the New Zealand 1000 Guineas four times with Canterbury Belle (1984), Phillipa Rush (1989), Tartan Tights (1994) and Tycoon Lil (1997). Johnson also won the Railway Stakes and Telegraph Handicap sprint doubles on Loader (1996) and Final Touch (2013). He also won the 1997 Waikato Sprint on Avedon.

He rode Samasaan to the New Zealand Cup Wellington doubles and had the fortune to ride the mighty Rough Habit to victory in the 1992 Captain Cook Stakes. In 1992 Johnson took out the Thorndon Mile on Tommy. Johnson's record haul of wins is all the more remarkable given he gave away race riding in 1998 and did not return until seven years later in 2005.

His 2000th winner came at Waipukurau in 2014 and at that time he was the sixth New Zealand jockey to reach the mark after Bill Skelton, David Peake, Lance O'Sullivan, Noel Harris and David Walsh. On Saturday 19 December 2020 Johnson established a national record for race victories in New Zealand of 2452, when he road Sassenach to win at Awapuni Racecourse surpassing the previous mark set by David Walsh. On 10 February 2022, at Invercargill, Johnson rode Lincoln Hills to his 2500th New Zealand race victory. He was only 8 wins away from breaking the record when NZ Racing suspended him indefinitely due to alcohol related issues after failing a breathalyzer test at Riccarton raceway in September 2020. Chris Johnson had previously admitted his battle with the bottle. It was an up and down journey for the jockey, having fought officialdom and his own demons, but his record is a testament to his persistence.