How many times was Richard Hughes Champion Jockey?
Nowadays, Richard Hughes is a respected trainer in Upper Lambourn, Berkshire, where he is following in the footsteps of his late father, Dessie, who was a much-admired jockey-turned-trainer.
However, prior to August, 2015, when he made an unexpectedly early exit from the saddle, at the age of 42, immediately after Glorious Goodwood, he had been one of the most successful jockeys for two decades. Indeed, when he finally called time on his 27-year riding career, Hughes had been Champion Jockey for the past three seasons, with 172, 208 and 161 winners in 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Unusually tall for a Flat jockey, at 5′ 10″, Hughes first moved to Britain in 1994 and rode his first Group One winner, Posidonas, trained by Paul Cole, in the Gran Premio D’italia at San Siro in September, 1995. In 2000, Hughes rode over a hundred winners in a season for the first time and, the following year, became the retained jockey to Prince Khalid Abdullah, owner of Juddmonte Farms. That association, which was to last until 2007 and yield Hughes’ first and second Group One winners, courtesy of Cartier Champion Sprinter Oasis Dream, trained by John Gosden, who completed a notable Darley July Cup – Nunthorpe Stakes double in 2003. Hughes also rode regularly for his father-in-law Richard Hannon Snr. and, following the retirement of the four-time Champion Trainer in 2013, his brother-in-law Richard Hannon Jnr..