Age and height no barrier for brilliant Hughes

Dubai: It would appear that at the age of 39, most sportsmen would be considered to be past their prime. Not so if you are Richard Hughes, the reigning British champion jockey, who is undeniably at the top of his game — a point that was driven home in emphatic style at Glorious Goodwood last week, where he raked up eight wins in five days to bag the top jockey award.

At 5ft 10in, Hughes towers above most of his rivals and while there is no height limit to becoming a jockey it simply means that he has had to work that much harder to keep his weight down. But that has not prevented the Irishman from establishing himself as on the best in the business alongside top riders like Frankie Dettori, Kieren Fallon and Ryan Moore.

In fact, Hughes made history in October last year when he rode seven winners in a day at Windsor to replicate the feat achieved by Dettori at Ascot in 1996. Commenting on his latest accomplishment at Goodwood, the golf-loving rider said: “It has been a fabulous week. Toronado, in the QIPCO Sussex Stakes, was without doubt the highlight. Wednesday was the best day of my career and I have never had a more enjoyable experience.

“The Markel Insurance Nassau Stakes did not go so well today because Sky Lantern was the best filly in the race but she did not win. She was unlucky and remembered the slap across the face she got at Newmarket, which made it difficult as did the interference. She stayed the 10 furlongs.”

Moore finished second at Goodwood with three winners while five jockeys, William Buick, Tom Queally, Richard Kingscote, Johnny Murtagh and Ryan Tate, rode a brace each.

Hughes’ father-in-law Richard Hannon claimed the top trainer award with nine wins to equal the record in he sent in 2010. Reflecting on the success his father achieved and other Goodwood highlights, Hannon’s son and assistant trainer Richard Jr, said: “We’ve had a good week, highlighted by Toronado’s win [in the QIPCO Sussex Stakes].

“It was billed as the Duel on the Downs and lived up to that, but we’ve had some nice winners in between, including Montiridge, Toormore, a few handicappers and now a nursery victory. It’s been a bit of everything — we’re very lucky.

“We’re some £700,000 ahead in the trainers’ title race, and this year we have a few for [QIPCO] Champions Day at Ascot, so we might not be out of the money there.”

Meanwhile, Adam Waterworth, Goodwood’s Managing Director, praised his team for their efforts in making another success of the historic Glorious Goodwood meeting.

“I am delighted with how Glorious Goodwood 2013 has gone,” he said in a statement. “It has been a difficult week for the whole team to cope with, especially for clerk of the course Seamus Buckley because of the weather, which was a complication that none of us needed.

“However, the racing has been superb all the week. The highlight was the QIPCO Sussex Stakes as we got the two highest-rated three-year-olds in the world, Dawn Approach and Toronado, and what a race it was — the perfect thriller for a race we marketed as a second Duel on the Downs.

“Apart from the weather, the attendances have been good and the crowds very well behaved.

“There is certainly no major surgery required and it has been a good week. We will begin planning for Glorious Goodwood 2014 next week and look forward to it coming around.”