Richard Hughes (jockey)
Richard Hughes (born 11 January 1973) is an Irish flat jockey who most commonly rides in Great Britain. Born in Dublin, he is the son of successful National Hunt trainer, Dessie Hughes.
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[edit] Riding career
Hughes' main provider of rides has been trainer Richard Hannon who is also his father in law and from 2001 to 2007 he was also retained by the owner Prince Khalid Abdullah. Hughes rides many winners every year and often threatens to challenge for the Champion Jockey title of most wins in the season, however his larger natural size means he cannot ride horses carrying light weights, reducing his winning opportunities.
Richard Hughes is respected for his riding style of 'nursing' horses along, getting horses to respond and run into the race without appearing to physically ride them hard.
Hughes is 5'10" in height, very tall for a flat jockey. This means he has to maintain his weight significantly below natural levels, even for a jockey.
In October 2011 Hughes received a five-day ban for hitting race-horse More Than Words too many times with the whip inside the final furlong in a race at Kempton. The ban was the first of its kind to be implemented after a change in the rules regarding horse welfare. On 13 October 2011, it was announced that Hughes was giving up his racing licence and quitting the sport out of protest at the ban.[1]
[edit] Personal life
Hughes is married with children. Outside of racing he enjoys playing a lot of golf.
[edit] British career wins
- 1996 1
- 1997 29
- 1998 53
- 1999 89
- 2000 102
- 2001 91
- 2002 126
- 2003 121
- 2004 73
- 2005 124
- 2006 113
- 2007 139
- 2008 127
- 2009 144
- 2010 192
[edit] Major wins
- Cheveley Park Stakes – (1) – Indian Ink (2006)
- Coronation Stakes – (1) – Indian Ink (2007)
- Falmouth Stakes – (1) – Music Show (2010)
- Haydock Sprint Cup – (1) – Tante Rose (2004)
- July Cup – (1) – Oasis Dream (2003)
- King's Stand Stakes – (1) – Piccolo (1995)
- Lockinge Stakes – (2) – Paco Boy (2010), Canford Cliffs (2011)
- Nunthorpe Stakes – (1) – Oasis Dream (2003)
- Queen Anne Stakes – (2) – Paco Boy (2009), Canford Cliffs (2011)
- St. James's Palace Stakes – (1) – Canford Cliffs (2010)
- Sussex Stakes – (1) – Canford Cliffs (2010)
- Critérium de Saint-Cloud – (1) – Passage of Time (2006)
- Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud – (1) – Youmzain (2008)
- Poule d'Essai des Poulains – (1) – American Post (2004)
- Poule d'Essai des Pouliches – (1) – Zenda (2002)
- Prix du Cadran – (1) – Invermark (1998)
- Prix de Diane – (1) – Nebraska Tornado (2003)
- Prix d'Ispahan – (1) – Observatory (2001)
- Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère – (1) – American Post (2003)
- Prix Jean Prat – (1) – Dick Turpin (2010)
- Prix du Moulin de Longchamp – (1) – Nebraska Tornado (2003)
- Bangalore Derby – (1) – Moonlight Romance (2010 - Summer season)
- Indian 1,000 Guineas – (1) – Jacqueline (2009)
- Indian 2,000 Guineas – (4) – Smart Chieftain (1999), Autonomy (2008), Jacqueline (2009), Ocean And Beyond (2010)
- Indian Derby – (2) – Smart Chieftain (2000), Jacqueline (2010)
- Indian Oaks – (2) – Jacqueline (2010), Moonlight Romance (2011)
- Goffs Million – (2) – Soul City (2008), Lucky General (2009)
- Irish 2,000 Guineas – (1) – Canford Cliffs (2010)
- Derby Italiano – (1) – Bahamian Knight (1996)
- Gran Premio d'Italia – (1) – Posidonas (1995)
- Premio Vittorio di Capua – (1) – Mistle Cat (1996)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Jockey Richard Hughes gives up riding licence in whip rule protest BBC Sport, 13 October 2011
[edit] External links
- Profile - Richard Hughes BBC Sport, 23 April 2004
- Hughes breaks with Abdullah to ride as freelance The Independent, 22 October 2007
- NTRA profile[dead link]
- Richard Hughes - Statistics Racing Post
- People in Racing: Richard Hughes (flat) British Horseracing Authority
