John Francome rates Paddy Brennan

I went down to Philip Hobbs's before Cheltenham last year and I did some schooling with Paddy. I've watched him ride over the last two or three seasons and have been impressed by how much he's improved. He seems to have picked a bit of the best out of everybody and also has a very good racing brain.

On Sunday at Aintree over the Grand National fences he rode a horse called Double Honour. This is a horse who I've watched run on many occasions and each time makes me thankful I've retired. He's very game but a moderate jumper and eventually on Sunday he fell, but until that point Paddy had given him a great ride and got him jumping far better than most others could have. Almost anyone can shine on the good horses. But the jockeys who make it are those who can get a tune out of the poor horses.

They are the ones that the trainers take notice of when they've got a horse in the yard they know in their hearts is going to be almost impossible to win with because their jumping just isn't up to scratch. Then somebody like Paddy gets on board and suddenly the horse has a whole lot more confidence in itself. He's like Tony McCoy in that respect.

Tony's biggest attribute is that he makes horses' minds up from the start. He doesn't get to the first fence and wonder what's going to happen, he's already thought of it. Paddy is a lot like that, he thinks about what he's doing.

I watch football quite a lot and I can't believe what some of the players do. Why can't they watch the good players and say, 'I've got to be as good as that?' The majority of them can't even pass the ball properly with both feet, never mind shoot. People just don't think about what's going on around them and ask, 'What do I have to do to get to the top?' They just don't work hard enough, which is what Paddy does.

To make the transition from conditional rider to fully-fledged professional you have to get as much experience as you can during the time that you're able to claim an allowance. Nothing gives you confidence like riding winners, as in any sport, and ultimately it's confidence in your own ability and to know yourself when you've done something wrong that will stand you in good stead. You have to set yourself targets and unless you have got that mind-set you're going to fall by the wayside and just end up jobbing around. Paddy has obviously thought about it.

He's riding for two of the biggest yards at the moment and is getting plenty of outside rides. He's got everything you need, there's nothing that lets him down. I haven't seen him get beaten on anything and thought, 'Tony McCoy would have won on that', and in my book he's here for the foreseeable future.

John Francome's new book, Cover Up, published by Headline, is out now, priced £17.99

How he rates

Age 24

Born Ardrahan, Co Galway

Height 5ft 9in

Weight 10st

Apprenticed to Jim Bolger, Kilkenny

Ability to get horses jumping 9

Judgement of pace 9

Strength 9

Commitment 9

Personality 9