Johnson and Scudamore hail double century hero Hughes

Rider recorded landmark winner at Perth on Wednesday.

Richard Johnson and Peter Scudamore have led the tributes to Brian 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.

Richard Johnson with his jockeys' championship trophy
Richard Johnson with his jockeys’ championship trophy (Alan Crowhurst/PA)

“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.

Peter Scudamore with his jockey son, Tom
Peter Scudamore with his jockey son, Tom (Mike Egerton/PA)

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.

Martin Pipe rewrote the record books
Martin Pipe rewrote the record books (Daniel Hambury/PA)

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.”

Richard Dunwoody was an inspiration to a young Brian Hughes
Richard Dunwoody was an inspiration to a young Brian Hughes (Rebecca Naden/PA)

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.”

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