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Any jockey who cannot command a ride at the premier meeting of the season - or who chooses to forgo riding there in order to hoover-up winners at the gaff tracks - is a champion in name only, imo. Hughes is in his 17th season as a jockey. He has ridden in a little over 10,000 races, has accumulated a little over 1500 winners, and has over 100 winners in each of his last eight seasons. However, despite all of that, his career Grade 1 tally stands at two wins (in 2015 and 2018).

He is champion jockey because he gets the pick of the rides from the best yards in the North - and rarely ventures down South to have a go in a more competitive arena. It has fu*ck-all to do with his hands, his tactical nous, or the clock in his head. He farms low-level dross better than anyone else, and he puts the yards in - I'll concede that much - but he is strictly a Westlife champion; it's all about the numbers - don't expect any substance.

<blockquote data-quote="Grasshopper" data-source="post: 2428276" data-attributes="member: 65342">Any jockey who cannot command a ride at the premier meeting of the season - or who chooses to forgo riding there in order to hoover-up winners at the gaff tracks - is a champion in name only, imo.&nbsp; Hughes is in his 17th season as a jockey. He has ridden in a little over 10,000 races, has accumulated a little over 1500 winners, and has over 100 winners in each of his last eight seasons. However, despite all of that, his career Grade 1 tally stands at two wins (in 2015 and 2018). He is champion jockey because he gets the pick of the rides from the best yards in the North - and rarely ventures down South to have a go in a more competitive arena. It has fu*ck-all to do with his hands, his tactical nous, or the clock in his head. He farms low-level dross better than anyone else, and he puts the yards in - I&#039;ll concede that much - but he is strictly a Westlife champion; it&#039;s all about the numbers - don&#039;t expect any substance.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Grasshopper, post: 2428276, member: 65342"] Any jockey who cannot command a ride at the premier meeting of the season - or who chooses to forgo riding there in order to hoover-up winners at the gaff tracks - is a champion in name only, imo. Hughes is in his 17th season as a jockey. He has ridden in a little over 10,000 races, has accumulated a little over 1500 winners, and has over 100 winners in each of his last eight seasons. However, despite all of that, his career Grade 1 tally stands at two wins (in 2015 and 2018). He is champion jockey because he gets the pick of the rides from the best yards in the North - and rarely ventures down South to have a go in a more competitive arena. It has fu*ck-all to do with his hands, his tactical nous, or the clock in his head. He farms low-level dross better than anyone else, and he puts the yards in - I'll concede that much - but he is strictly a Westlife champion; it's all about the numbers - don't expect any substance. [/QUOTE]

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