THESE are strange days indeed but, after a break of four seasons, a North of Ireland-born jockey is once again National Hunt champion in Britain with Brian Hughes topping the 2019/20 leaderboard on a total of 141 wins following an early end to the campaign.

“It isn’t the way I would have liked to win but being champion is something every jockey dreams of,” said Hughes earlier this week as he endeavoured to fill his time at home in Cleveland following the suspension of racing in Britain since March 18th.

At that stage, the south Armagh native was 19 wins clear of four-time champion Richard Johnson who was the only other jockey to partner over 100 winners during the campaign.

“I would have preferred if the season had gone through to the end as I felt I could maintain my lead as I had plenty of rides available,” said Hughes who rode as an apprentice for Kevin Prendergast and had his first school over fences on a four-year-old trained by James Lambe. “As it was, one day we were flat out racing and then, the next, we were twiddling our thumbs.

“Over the last few years, I had set myself a target of 150 which I came closest to last season until I got injured and was stopped on 146.

“That was very frustrating as I felt I was on course to beat the 149 wins recorded by Jonjo (O’Neill) in 1977-1978. Jonjo was the last northern-based jockey to win the title (1979-1980) so I’m delighted to have bridged that gap.

Big-money horses

“There is a huge north/south divide over here. There are some very good trainers in the north but all the big-money horses go to the big yards down south. When Jonjo was riding, the north was the powerhouse of National Hunt racing.

“I was a bit unlucky this season that some of my top rides such as Waiting Patiently (trained by Ruth Jefferson) and Forest Bihan (Brian Ellison) were injured while Cloudy Dream (Donald McCain) didn’t get back and you struggle without those really good horses who are few and far between.

“I rode a lot of nice younger horses however such as Ribble Valley (Nicky Richards) and The King Of May (Ellison) also Gaelik Coast and Presentandcounting (both trained by McCain).”

One of Hughes’s most eye-catching rides this season came in December at Catterick where the 34-year-old partnered the Peter Atkinson-trained Reverant Cust in a two-mile handicap chase.

“The horse was struggling to lie-up in an eight-horse field and was only sixth three out. He then began to make up some ground and, although about six lengths down in second at the last, he stayed on really well to win by three-parts of a length.”

Suspension

If that win gave RACE graduate Hughes a lot of satisfaction, he wasn’t best pleased about losing others and/or being given suspensions as a result of stewards’ enquires but, as he said himself, he does take these reversals a lot better than in the past.

However, one suspension which had him really riled up came at Carlisle in February when he weighed in 5lbs light having won the handicap hurdle, which was off at 5pm, on the James Ewart-trained Bingo D’Olivate.

It transpired that Hughes was missing a weight cloth when he returned to scales and while he could understand why the horse would be disqualified, his suspension made no sense to him.

“Once the jockey weighs out, he hands the saddle over to the trainer or his representative; the jockey has nothing to do with the saddle after that.”

He was initially given five days, which were quickly reduced to three, but, at 6pm, Hughes was on the ‘phone to the Professional Jockeys Association who had lodged an appeal on his behalf 30 minutes later. The suspension was lifted on further investigation.

Gold Cup ride

On his way to claiming his first championship, Hughes recorded another first this season when asked to ride for Willie Mullins in the Cheltenham Gold Cup on the 50/1 shot Real Steel.

“I got a call from Noel Fehily asking me if I’d like a ride in the Gold Cup and, at first, I thought he was joking,” said Hughes who had only once previously ridden in the race. “Anyway, Noel acts for Real Steel’s owner, Jared Sullivan, so I was delighted to take the ride.

“I thought they went steady enough and my horse got into a nice rhythm. He jumped well throughout and when I pulled him out going to the third last, he winged it.

“Turning in, I thought for a second we might just get there but then his stride began to shorten and I knew that was it.” The combination finished sixth.

While there have been many changes in Hughes’s life since he first arrived in Britain, the one constant has been his agent, Richard Hale.

Brian and Luci Hughes with Rory and Olivia

Vital part

“Richard sorts out everything for me and is a vital part of every success I’ve had,” said the Newtownhamilton native.

“He has been my agent over here from the start and, as long as he keeps doing the job, he’ll be my agent.”

When asked for his opinion on Hughes’s championship success, Hale replied: “Brian has worked incredibly hard to build up an excellent book of contacts and become a stand-out jockey.

“His great consistency and professionalism have been rewarded with this much deserved title. He makes this extremely difficult job look easy.

“For me, Brian’s win completes a full set of all the jockey titles: four champion apprentices, Robert Winston, Freddie Tylicki, Paul Hanagan and Amy Ryan; four champion conditionals, Brian Hughes, Craig Nichol, Lucy Alexander and Henry Brooke and the dual champion flat jockey, Paul Hanagan.”

During these lockdown days, Hughes isn’t riding out but hopes to start again soon having spent many hours on the tractor recently, rolling fields for his father-in-law and doing odd jobs around the house.

“It’s hard to find things to do all day and it’s gone really quiet around here.

“I go for a four-mile run every morning and today, when I went down to the main road, which is usually very difficult to cross, not one car passed me. Luci, who is a schoolteacher, is off as well so we are spending a lot of time with our kids, Rory and Olivia.

“Like everyone else, I’m just waiting for racing to get back going and not knowing when that will be is very frustrating; it would be great if we had a date to work towards.”