Tag Archive for: Richard Hughes

York Eyecatcher America Queen can reign eventually

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America Queen can strike Group-race gold before the season is out judged on a fine effort in the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes at York.

Richard Hughes’ filly made a huge impression when bolting up by 12 lengths on her Haydock debut in early July and with Ryan Moore aboard, she was well fancied as a 5-2 joint-favourite for the Group Two opener on the second day of the Ebor Festival.

After travelling powerfully, the daughter of Havana Grey hit the front heading inside the final furlong before being run down late by her more experienced market rival Royal Fixation. It is surely only a matter of time before America Queen goes one better at this level.

Richard Hughes no stranger to Nunthorpe success as he readies Sayidah Dariyan

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Precision timing proved key when Richard Hughes tasted Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes glory as a jockey and his expert judgement could see Sayidah Dariyan peak at the perfect moment when she takes aim at York’s feature sprint on Friday.

Often content to bide his time in the plate, patience has again been the Irishman’s watchword in the training ranks, ending his long wait for an elusive first Group One success as a trainer when No Half Measures won the July Cup earlier this summer.

And ahead of Sayidah Dariyan’s attempt to quickly double his tally at the highest level, the 52-year-old remembers delivering Edward Lynam’s Sole Power with aplomb in the 2014 Nunthorpe, a ride which is often referred to as Hughes at the height of his powers.

Richard Hughes knows what it takes to win at York
Richard Hughes knows what it takes to win at York (Mike Egerton/PA)

A shock winner when surging home at 100-1 four years previously, the seven-year-old was an established name in the spiriting division and fresh off victory at Royal Ascot when Hughes entered the stalls aboard the 11-4 favourite.

What would ensue in the following 57.92 seconds was a display of calculated decision making as Hughes weaved his way to the front in the nick of time in an exhibition of horsemanship which was a hallmark of his decorated career in the saddle.

“It was really straightforward and I always felt it was a race you needed to get your fractions the same every furlong,” said Hughes

“It looked like Sole Power was quickening but he was going the same speed from the two-furlong pole to the one as he did from the one-pole to the winning post, I would say, and it was the others which stopped.

“I had no choice for four furlongs as I was flat to the bat, I know I was sitting on him but I couldn’t go any quicker.

“It was only then when the pace finally collapsed – and it took a good while but it eventually did – and they were all in a bit of a heap and collapsed at a similar time that I got going, and I had a bit of luck along the way to get through the pack.

“It does give you some extra satisfaction when you win like that and I enjoyed it, that’s for sure.”

There are many ways to get a job done and while Sole Power’s daring late dash is the showreel finish any jockey would be proud to wax lyrical about, in stark contrast, Hughes’ first Nunthorpe triumph aboard Oasis Dream in 2003 was a mere formality as the outstanding sprinter of his generation blew away his rivals.

Majestically handled by John Gosden, he was an impressive winner of the July Cup before dropping back to five furlongs to prove equally spellbinding on the Knavesmire, leaving Hughes with little doubt where he stands in the pantheon of sprinting greats.

Oasis Dream
Richard Hughes (left) with Oasis Dream after winning the Nunthorpe (PA)

He said: “He was very, very fast and able to maintain it. He was a young horse at the time so he was exuberant.

“He would be one of the best sprinters I rode, he was third at Royal Ascot but won a July Cup and a Nunthorpe and not many do that, he was very good.”

With triumphs in the saddle now confined to the memory bank and perhaps the odd photographic reminder on a wall, attentions turn to the next chapter in Hughes’ Nunthorpe history book when Sayidah Dariyan takes her place in the showpiece sprint event.

Successful over the course and distance in her most recent outing, Hughes is confident the talented daughter of Dariyan is coming to the boil at just the right time, as the Weathercock Stables handler looks to cap a breakout year in the training ranks at the scene of some of his finest hours on horseback.

“It would be lovely to win as a trainer,” continued Hughes. “It might be a bit harder than when I was a jockey but we hope we have a great chance.

“Sayidah Dariyan really is going the right way and last time when she won at York, it was the first time she was ridden the way I like.

“She was covered up and ridden for a turn of foot by Billy (Loughnane) and she just exploded. We were able to see the best of her ridden that way.

“I don’t think coming back to five furlongs will be too much of a hindrance to her, she’s quite fast.

“I wouldn’t swap her for anything and with No Half Measures as well, we know we have two nice fillies.”

Hughes counting down to the Nunthorpe with Sayidah Dariyan

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Richard Hughes is confident he has a “great chance” of notching a second big sprinting prize of the summer when course winner Sayidah Dariyan returns to York for the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes.

The Lambourn-based former jockey registered the first Group One success of his training career when stable flagbearer No Half Measures was a shock 66-1 winner of the July Cup at Newmarket, but a day prior it was his ever-improving three-year-old filly who sparkled when winning on the Knavesmire to set up her Nunthorpe bid.

“We hope we have a great chance, she’s really going the right way,” said Hughes, who memorably won the Nunthorpe aboard both Oasis Dream and Sole Power as a rider.

“I wouldn’t swap her for anything and with No Half Measures as well we know we have two nice fillies.”

Sayidah Dariyan has barely put a foot wrong in her three-year-old career, winning a competitive conditions event at Chelmsford before bumping into the thriving Symbol Of Honour when third in Newbury’s Carnarvon Stakes and then going on to finish fourth in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.

However, it was at York in the Summer Stakes where the Jaber Abdullah-owned three-year-old excelled in the hands of Billy Loughnane, leaving her as short as 8-1 in places for the Ebor Festival’s sprinting highlight.

“Last time when she won at York it was the first time she was ridden the way I like,” continued Hughes.

“She was covered up and ridden for a turn of foot and she just exploded. We were able to see the best of her ridden that way.

“I don’t think coming back to five furlongs will be too much of a hindrance to her and I think she’s quite fast.”

Sayidah Dariyan will be joined on her journey to Yorkshire by stablemate America Queen who will also sport the Abdullah silks when she lines up for the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes.

A 4-1 chance for the Group Two event after blitzing the opposition by 12 lengths on debut at Haydock, Weathercock House handler Hughes is hopeful of another bold showing.

“She definitely runs in the Lowther and we’re very pleased with her,” continued Hughes.

“We hadn’t seen what she did at Haydock at home. We thought she would win at Haydock but when the jockey gave her a slap and she took off, it was what we hadn’t seen before so hopefully she’s saving more for the track.

“We’ve got a nice bunch of two-year-olds who are going the right way and we’re really pleased with them.”

Hughes eyeing York return for thriving Sayidah Dariyan

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Fresh from training his first Group One winner with No Half Measures in the July Cup, Richard Hughes feels he has another contender for top honours in Sayidah Dariyan.

A Group Three winner at York on Friday on the back of a creditable run at Royal Ascot in the Commonwealth Cup, the filly could return to the Knavesmire for a crack at the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes next month.

“I thought her run at Ascot was huge and to be honest I’d have been really disappointed had she got beat at York,” Hughes told Racing TV’s Luck on Sunday programme.

“I had a good chat with Billy (Loughnane) about how to get the best out of the filly, which was to ride her the way he did, and it was a very brave ride, I was very proud of him.

“I told him about riding in these big races, don’t worry if you get beat and I’d rather you come too late than too soon, but she really showed how good she was and she’s a very high-class filly.

“She could win the July Cup next year. We’ll have a chat with Jaber (Abdullah, owner) and see what he wants to do as he’s a big breeder as well.

“We might think about the Nunthorpe as the way she travelled the other day I don’t think five furlongs will make much difference to her.

“If I have to wait until September and the ground goes on me there isn’t much left because Ascot will be soft. If I need a shot at a Group One I probably need fast ground.”

No Half Measures stuns July Cup rivals

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Richard Hughes’ No Half Measures ran out a shock winner of the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes at Newmarket.

At 66-1 she was a real outsider in the Group One contest, and from stall 15 she kept out of trouble under Neil Callan on the far side of the track.

As the six-furlong event reached the business end she was picking off rivals and after locking horns with Big Mojo, it was No Half Measures who came out on top by a neck with a further length and three-quarters back to Run To Freedom in third.

Hughes steered Oasis Dream to victory in the 2003 July Cup and after taking up training in 2015, No Half Measures is his first Group One winner as a handler.

Neil Callan returns to the winner's enclosure aboard No Half Measures
Neil Callan returns to the winner’s enclosure aboard No Half Measures (Joe Giddens/PA)

An emotional Hughes said: “I’ve just got a bear hug off William Buick and he’s cut my lip!

“It’s brilliant. Disappointments when you’re training are very hard and the highs don’t meet the lows. We fancied the filly yesterday Mood Queen and she finished last, which was excruciating, and the highs aren’t even high enough.

“It’s an up and down game, but I’m coping better with it now than I used to. It’s been a tough enough ride to get to here, but I’m definitely appreciating more now than when I started.

“I didn’t appreciate all those good horses when I was riding, I just took it for granted and I was very lucky to be riding for Richard Hannon and having the Khalid Abdullah job – I was privileged to be riding good horses every year.

“We get a good horse through the yard now and again and I’m trying to mind it like a baby and I’m watching it every day in case it goes wrong because you probably only have one or two bullets. In Hannon’s, if one broke you’d get on another one next day or I’d get another ride. There was a flow of horses and I found it very easy.

“I was a little bit naive when I started training – I thought if I bought 20 horses one of them was going to be good. Then I bought 20 the following year and still no good one.

“This is harder, but more rewarding for sure.”

Of gaining his first Group One as a trainer, he added: “I’ve got the monkey off my back that’s for sure and I can retire now saying I rode a July Cup winner and trained one, so that’s really nice.

Richard Hughes (second left) with No Half Measures
Richard Hughes (second left) with No Half Measures (Joe Giddens/PA)

“Of course I want more, it’s my nature as I’m very competitive, but if you don’t have the horses you can’t train them.”

No Half Measures won a handicap at this meeting last year before graduating to Group Three and Listed success, but Hughes admitted he had not expected to hit the mark at the highest level.

He said: “She won here last year in a handicap and when Ryan (Moore) got off her I asked him if we’d get a bit of black type and he said ‘she’s better than that’, which is something Ryan never says! He’s a realist, so I was quite surprised by that.

“We plotted to get our black type and we got it and she’s done nothing but improve.

“There was very little pressure today really. At halfway I thought she was going OK and then I just held my head because I couldn’t believe what was happening!

“I just thought if she’s going to get caught she’s going to caught, because they normally do, but I would have been pleased even with second or third, so to win is just a bonus.”

Callan has had a quiet season so far and was grateful to get the Group One call up from Hughes.

He said: “It’s surreal because I’m getting into the twilight of my career. My son Jack is starting and I’m getting a lot of flak saying I’ve getting give up. He was with Kevin Ryan yesterday and my old boss Kevin telling me I’ve got to retire so this one’s for you, Kev!

“I’ve got to thank Richard (Hughes) because if you don’t get given these opportunities then you can’t take them and I’m not in a position to be going around scouting and taking rides.

“You know this game – you’re only as good as your last ride so you’ve got to come out and prove yourself every time you come out, every day.”