Tag Archive for: champion jockey

Colin Keane claims fifth Irish champion jockey title

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Colin Keane was crowned champion jockey in Ireland for the fourth successive year – and fifth in all – at the Curragh on Sunday.

Keane took a stranglehold on the championship from August onwards and was able to compete over the last few weeks of the season stress-free.

While he did not manage to win a Group One this season, he did win the Group Two Minstrel Stakes on Zarinsk for his boss Ger Lyons.

With Lyons not as prolific this year as in recent times, Keane struck up relationships with the likes of Noel Meade, Willie Mullins and Henry de Bromhead, while he also rode six winners for his father, Gerry.

For the second year running, Keane’s closest challenger was Billy Lee.

He said: “I suppose it was a little bit more enjoyable this year, I was certainly able to relax these last few weeks.

“I got a good lead in August which was a big help and thankfully I was able to win it for a fifth time.

“Unfortunately Ger hasn’t had the firepower that he’s usually had, but thankfully the likes of Noel Meade, my father and Michael O’Callaghan have all chipped in and my agent, Ruaidhri Tierney, has done a great job.

“Zarinsk was a great filly this year, she won her Listed (race), a Group Three and a Group Two and that’s important for a filly like her.

“The highlight would have to be riding a first Royal Ascot winner (Villanova Queen) or riding a winner for my father here on Champions Weekend (Crystal Black) for a great bunch of lads

“Any day you ride a winner, you are enjoying it.

“I’ll keep going from now to Christmas and then take a break in the new year.”

Jamie Powell claimed the leading apprentice title having ridden 28 winners, which put him 13th overall in the jockeys’ championship.

He said: “I’ve received so much support from so many people since I’ve started.

“I didn’t really sit on a racehorse until I was 16 or 17 and didn’t do pony racing. I went to the Racing Academy in Kildare Town and I got going from there and was sent out to Patrick Prendergast and then he joined up with John Oxx.

“I learned plenty in there and riding work with the likes of Niall McCullagh, who has been a big help to me.

Aussie Girl and Jamie Powell were Curragh winners in July
Aussie Girl and Jamie Powell were Curragh winners in July (Brian Lawless/PA)

“I then joined Johnny Murtagh and have been there for two or three years now. He gives me plenty of feedback watching back races and is able to tell me where I’m going wrong.

“The Curragh is right on my doorstep and I’ve gone racing here since I was a kid. It’s been very lucky for me and I’ve won big handicaps here this year on Aussie Girl and Tawaazon, so to be crowned champion apprentice here is great.”

Aidan O’Brien took the trainers’ title for a 26th time, having won the Irish Derby and Irish Champion Stakes with Auguste Rodin, the Irish 2,000 Guineas with Paddington and the Irish Oaks with Savethelastdance in another stellar campaign.

Brian Hughes only looking forward after banking third championship

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Brian Hughes is preparing to thrust himself straight into another title bid ahead of being crowned champion jockey for the third time on the final day of the season at Sandown on Saturday.

The Northern Irishman first claimed the title at the end of 2019-20 season and while he was defeated by Harry Skelton the following year, he regained the trophy at the end of last term.

This campaign’s 164 winners (before racing on Friday) falls some way short of last year’s total when Hughes reached and passed the significant milestone of 200 winners ridden in a season – joining Peter Scudamore, AP McCoy and Richard Hughes in a small band of riders to have done so.

Lost fixtures due to challenging weather conditions and a slight dip in the form of his mounts are the possible causes for the lower number this term, but Hughes’ relationship with trainer Donald McCain continues to provide plenty of success for both parties.

Hughes aboard Minella Drama at Aintree
Hughes aboard Minella Drama at Aintree (Mike Egerton/PA)

Hughes said: “It’s good to be champion again. Plenty of hard work. We didn’t get to the number we did last year, but we’ll try harder next year!

“We missed a lot of days racing with bad weather, and you’d have to say the horses weren’t running as well as they were the season before, even though they haven’t been running badly.

“We get on great, Donald’s a brilliant trainer. He’s got a great team and a bunch of loyal owners who have supported the yard and me through that.

“It’s great, I enjoy riding Donald’s horses and we’ve had a lot of success throughout the past couple of seasons. Hopefully we’ll have a few more successful seasons to come.”

Hughes also puts forward his agent Richard Hale as a key figure in his career, with the leading northern-based agent doing a sterling job in balancing all of the champion’s riding commitments for the various stables he is connected to.

Hughes at Doncaster
Hughes at Doncaster (Mike Egerton/PA)

“That’s Richard Hale’s job, I have little to do with that,” Hughes said of the organisation of his rides.

“I just play dumb and he sorts it all out! He keeps all the balls in the air and luckily it works, we’ve done it for a few years now and he keeps everything going forwards. ‘I don’t know, speak to Richard’ – that’s my party line!

“He’s been my agent for the last 18 years – he’s a friend as much as an agent. I put total trust in him and what he puts me on, I ride. We never have any problems.”

Though a constant on northern and midlands racecourses, Hughes is occasionally absent on some of the sport’s biggest days of racing as he will opt to take a ride with a winning chance at a smaller meeting rather than partner an also-ran in a higher-profile race.

This is an approach that has been numerically successful for the rider and he does not see the merit in taking outside rides with slim chances when there are better opportunities elsewhere.

Hughes holding the trophy last season
Hughes holding the trophy last season (Nigel French/PA)

“Everyone wants to ride the big-race winners and win the competitive races and it’s not that I don’t want to. Donald buys a lot of horses and we’re hoping to drop on a couple of good, Graded horses,” he said.

“If you don’t ride for the people who have them, it makes it fairly hard to get on them.

“I want to be competitive and ride winners, I don’t want to be there for a social runner. When I’m not going to be competitive somewhere, I won’t go. If I’ve got a good ride I’ll be there in a heartbeat.

“I go where I’m required to go, that’s my job. I’m not looking at anyone with envy. Wherever you’re going you want to be competitive, if you can’t get on any good rides then it’s sort of pointless to go.”

At 37 Hughes considers himself to be in the autumn of his career and it is that motivation that will push him to hit the ground running throughout the summer to try to bank more winners in pursuit of a fourth title this time next year.

Sedgefield Racecourse – Tuesday April 19th
Brian Hughes at Sedgefield (Nigel French/PA)

“We’ll start and try to get winners on the board. We’ll just just keep rolling on, I don’t have many years left to ride so I’ve got to ride while I can,” he said.

“I’m 38 in June, 40 is not going to be far away. It doesn’t seem like any time at all since I came to England in 2005.

“There’s not many jump jockeys go on much past 40, maybe early 40s but on the Flat they go to 50. I just don’t want to take anything for granted.”