Brian Hughes became only the fourth jump jockey to ride 200 winners in a season after steering Dreams Of Home to victory at Perth on Wednesday.
Ahead of being crowned champion jockey for the second time at Sandown this weekend, Hughes joined Sir Anthony McCoy, Richard Johnson and Peter Scudamore as a double centurion with just four days of the campaign remaining.
It has long since been inevitable that the 36-year-old would regain the title he lost to Harry Skelton last term, having ridden nearly 100 winners more than the reigning champion and Sam Twiston-Davies.
He became the first northern-based jockey to ride 150 winners in a season when booting home a four-timer at Carlisle in February and has had his eyes firmly fixed on the 200 ever since.
After moving within one of the milestone with a double at Sedgefield on Tuesday, Hughes headed to Scotland with a strong book of five rides.
And while he pulled up Laffite and finished last of five on Uncle Alastair in the first two races, he made it third time lucky aboard Dreams Of Home in the Bob Nelson Capercaillie Handicap Chase.
Sent straight to the lead, Donald McCain’s 6/4 favourite had most of his rivals on the stretch early in the home straight and had just enough in the tank to hold Coach Carter at bay by half a length.
McCain praises ‘ultimate professional’ Hughes
Donald McCain hailed Hughes as the “ultimate professional” after the jockey rode into the record books with his 200th winner.
The McCain-trained Dreams Of Home provided Hughes, 36, with the remarkable tally only previously managed by three jump riders – Peter Scudamore, Sir Anthony McCoy and Richard Johnson.
Cheshire-based McCain has supplied over half of Hughes’ winners to help him secure what will be a second title when the season ends at Sandown on Saturday.
“It’s a huge credit to him, he never misses anything, he’s the ultimate professional. He’s as dedicated as anybody I’ve ever met in the sport, it’s full credit to him, it’s richly deserved and a mark of honour,” he said.
Hughes will regain the title he first won in the 2019/20 campaign after losing last season’s battle with Harry Skelton.
Skelton won by 152 winners to 142, which only served to make Hughes more determined, according to McCain.
“We’ve been through a couple of years together now and things just didn’t quite happen last year but there was no complaining, all he knows is how to get his head down and work even harder,” said the Cholmondeley handler.
“That’s what he’s done, those three are the greats of National Hunt racing so for him to be among them is wonderful.
“I’ve got a business to run and when I had the chance to have Brian as a stable jockey, it was a no-brainer. If I’m looking after my business and my owners properly, then it’s an absolute no-brainer.
“I’d like to think it’s working as well for him as it is for me, to ride 100 winners for one yard in a season is a big achievement.”
Hughes became the fastest northern-based jockey to reach a century of winners in a season when scoring on Dreams Of Home at Ayr on November 22.
He also became the first northern-based rider to record 150 winners, surpassing Jonjo O’Neill’s previous best of 149.
Yet he has been largely out of the spotlight on big days. He did not have a ride at the Cheltenham Festival or in the Grand National.
“Big winners are sometimes easier to ride, he gets a bit of stick for not being down at the big meetings but it’s through no fault of his own,” said McCain.
“That’s not his job, his job is with me and we’re a northern-based yard and I have owners who want to run their horses in the north of England.
“At the end of the day, he has to go where his rides are. We had one runner at Cheltenham and it rained too much and we couldn’t run, so he rerouted and went and rode winners in the north.
“We are employed by people in the north of England to run horses in the north of England and it’s unreasonable for people to think differently.
“He’s the biggest jockey in the north and with a bit of luck, we’re the biggest stable in the north, so the tie-up has been a no-brainer.”
Johnson and Scudamore hail double century hero Hughes
Richard Johnson and Peter Scudamore have led the tributes to Hughes, who is now part of an exclusive club of jump jockeys to ride 200 winners in a season.
Hughes, 36, joins the pair in the 200 club, along with Sir Anthony McCoy, as the only riders to have achieved the remarkable feat.
Johnson, who first reached the 200-winner mark in the 2015-2016 season (recording 235 in total) before reaching 201 winners in 2018-19, hopes Hughes will receive the adulation he deserves when he is officially crowned champion jockey on bet365 Gold Cup Day at Sandown on Saturday.
“He is getting his just rewards from many years of hard work,” said Johnson.
“Actually, it will be lovely for him at Sandown, with all the crowds back, to be crowned champion jockey properly.
“Unfortunately, two years ago, with the lockdown, he wasn’t able to have that. For me, that was one of the highlights of the year, when you could go there with your family and friends and you’d almost enjoy the hard work of the last 12 months.”
It will be an extra-special moment for Hughes, who will be surrounded by his family including wife Luci and children Rory and Olivia, particularly after the heartbreak of last year’s title chase.
The Northern Irishman, who was spurred on to become a jockey by fellow countrymen Richard Dunwoody, McCoy and Tony Dobbin, was on course to win the title and led Harry Skelton by 21 wins at the end of January, but ended up being beaten by 10 (152-142).
This season, he has quietly gone about his business, with Donald McCain supplying over 100 of his winners, and Johnson feels the formidable partnership will be hard to stop.
Johnson said: “You always want to ride as many winners as possible. Sometimes, when you are flat out every day, working hard, if you are not riding the big winners on a Saturday it gets missed.
“But saying that, I don’t think it will worry Brian. He is having a fantastic season and both he and Don McCain are a real force, and I’m sure they will go from strength to strength.
“Brian gets on with everyone and it is as easy for him to go to Ayr on a Monday as it is to go to Haydock on a Saturday – I think it is very important for a champion to work hard all year round, and that is exactly what Brian does.
“You need to have a good, consistent season to reach that number. It gave me a huge boost when I was able to do it.”
Scudamore was the first to reach the 200 mark, recording a total of 221 winners from just 662 rides in 1988-89 when the season was 10 months long, rather than 12 as it is now, having had the backing of the incomparable Martin Pipe.
The eight-time champion believes it is harder for a northern-based rider to win the title, much less ride a double century of winners.
Scudamore said: “I had the opportunity to do it and stay fit. It is amazingly tough and Brian has my utmost admiration.
“It is hard for a northern-based jockey, although Jonjo (O’Neill), Ron Barry, Tony Dobbin and Graham Lee have done it successfully at that level, so you have to take your hat off to them.
“There are not too many who have achieved 200 winners, and it is an amazing achievement.
“The only thing I remember when I was riding, on a selfish, personal note, when I first started people would have been immensely happy with 100 winners, so we never thought it was achievable.
“I remember meeting Cash Asmussen at Ascot and we were the first people of that era to ride 200 winners in Europe. I don’t think even the Flat jockeys managed more than 150 or 180 winners.
“I would say it, wouldn’t I, but it is quite a big achievement.
“It is relentless, it is a grind, it is the consistency. I just hope Brian gets the accolades he deserves.
“He has been around a long time, and I have had a huge admiration for what he has done.”
McCoy raised the bar when the jumps season went year-round, reaching the 200-winners mark nine times in his two-decade reign as champion jockey between 1996 and 2015.
As he had done when previously helping make Scudamore and Richard Dunwoody champions, Pipe supplied many of McCoy’s winners during that period.
Pipe was quick to acknowledge Hughes’ achievement in becoming champion jockey for a second time and reaching 200 winners.
He said: “It is terrific. Donald McCain has done extremely well, training over 150 winners and Brian has done fantastic. He is a very good jockey and it is just all about hard work and perseverance.
“You have got to have the horses of course, but equally you have to have the talent, obviously.
“It is a major achievement and it is absolutely fantastic for Brian. It is great to see him banging the winners in.
“There is a lot more racing now, but it is still fantastic to ride 200 winners. It is brilliant. It is a grind and that perseverance takes a lot. I take my hat off to him.”
Three-times champion Dunwoody, whose best was 197 winners in a titanic title battle with Adrian Maguire in the 1993-94 season, also added to the tributes.
He said: “It is a great achievement. I nearly got there once, so I appreciate what it takes.
“It is a pity he doesn’t get more class rides, whether it is something he might want to focus on in the future, I don’t know.
“But if you are going that way, you probably have to say goodbye to the championship. Regardless, he has done brilliantly and I’m delighted for him.”
