SOUTH Armagh-born Brian Hughes has only ridden three winners at the Cheltenham Festival, the third coming last season when he landed the concluding race on the Tuesday, the Listed Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase, on the Mick Channon-trained Mister Whitaker.

Hughes won the same race in 2016 on the Ian Williams-saddled Ballyalton and his first festival success was recorded two years previously when High Hawk defied odds of 33/1 to land the Grade 3 Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle for the Tim Easterby yard and owner/breeder Trevor Hemmings.

In coming late to score by a head last March, Mister Whitaker was a first winner at the Cheltenhm Festival for owner Tim Radford whose green and red colours, then those of his late wife Camilla, were also worn by Hughes when second on the Channon-trained Somersby in the 2015 Grade 1 Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase won by Dodging Bullets.

CHASING WINNERS

“As far as I’m concerned, the festival isn’t the be all and end all of the season but it’s all about being there on a horse with a chance of winning,” commented Hughes. “If I’d a choice between a no-hoper at the festival or riding winners somewhere else, then you’d find me at the smaller meeting; I’d go anywhere if there was a chance of a winner.”

Hughes lost one of his great supporters early last February with the death of Malton trainer Malcolm Jefferson. However, he still managed to be crowned the Stobart Northern Jump Jockey of The Year for a third successive season and, for the second time running was runner-up to Richard Johnson in the national championship.

“Of course I’d like to be champion,” says the 33-year-old, “but, as long as Richard keeps riding, there is very little chance of anyone beating him to the title. He is a brilliant jockey and a great man.”

In May, it was announced that Hughes would be first jockey for Donald McCain but he has also maintained his established links with yards in the north of England and the Scottish border country.

Thanks to the Cheshire trainer and others such as Keith Dalgleish and Nicky Richards, the Newtownhamilton native is lying third in this year’s jockeys’ title race to Johnson and Harry Skelton.

As ever, he credits his long-term agent Richard Hale for getting him on the right horses.

Hughes realises how fortunate he is to have such backing especially as the field sizes this season have been restricted by the unseasonably dry weather up to mid-January and, as champion conditional in the 2007/08 season, he knows how difficult life is for younger riders over jumps.

“Trainers aren’t prepared to run their winter horses on the ground which is understandable. However, while this is fine for the older, experienced jockeys, the younger ones aren’t getting out to learn their trade.

“Many of them are going to end up running at the bigger meetings with very little experience under their belts.

“I’ve ridden a lot of winners for Donald but, as a partnership, we really haven’t got rolling yet – it has just been a really strange year with the weather. The smaller fields also mean that there are fewer opportunities now for younger riders and it will be difficult to keep them in the game.”

BIGGEST WIN

One of Hughes’s biggest wins last season (and, to date, his only victory at the top level) came in the Grade 1 Betfair Ascot Chase in mid-February on Waiting Patiently. This was an emotional success as the Flemensfirth gelding, who was winning for the seventh time in a row – and the sixth consecutively under Hughes – was saddled for the first time by Ruth Jefferson following the death of her father Malcolm earlier in the month. The race was held the day after his funeral.

Unfortunately, the winning streak came to an end at Kempton’s St Stephen’s Day meeting where, on his seasonal reappearance, Waiting Patiently and Hughes parted company when badly hampered by the faller Bristol De Mai at the ninth fence in the Grade 1 32Red King George VI Chase. The going was good to soft that day and while Waiting Patiently has been entered up since then, he is another that hasn’t been risked on unsuitable ground.

RACE

RACE graduate Hughes, who started out on the flat here with Kevin Prendergast but developed a taste for jumping when schooling around Down Royal one day for James Lambe, has been living in the north of England for roughly 14 years. He is settled in Cleveland with wife Luci and son Rory who is a year and a few months old.

The stylish, dedicated jockey has few interests outside of racing and, despite the protests of all others, rode out on the morning of his wedding in August 2016. However, he is delighted that wife Luci has decided to stay on her feet as she is expecting the couple’s second child in a couple of months. “We still have the hunters but they’ve had an easy couple of seasons with Luci being pregnant.”

On a professional level, Hughes has had one highlight already this year as he rode his 1,000th jumps winner when the Nicky Richards-trained My Old Gold landed a novices’ handicap chase at Wetherby on January 4th.

This feat was well covered by the racing media but we like what “super proud wife” Luci tweeted a day later after her husband had partnered three winners at Newcastle for long-term supporters Richards, Tim Easterby (on the above mentioned Ballyalton) and James Ewart:

“Not one for public outbursts but don’t mind saying that I am immensely proud of Brian riding his 1,000th British career winner on Friday. Followed by a treble today!

“At only 33 he works unbelievably hard and deserves every winner he gets. Something great to tell Rory and baby when they are older!”?