‘Richard Hughes could miss Breeders Cup’ - Richard Hannon Jnr
The jockey championship just got that little bit more interesting.
Following Richard Hughes’ double at Lingfield yesterday, Richard Hannon junior has hinted that the stable jockey may miss the Breeders' Cup meeting in order to continue his quest for championship honours this week.
When Hughes picked up a seven-day ban for careless riding at Wolverhampton three weeks ago, the jockeys’ championship looked a foregone conclusion. Paul Hanagan was ten winners clear at the time, but a rejuvenated Hughes has been firing in the winners from all angles over the past week to narrow the gap to just three. It appeared that the in-form jock only had until Thursday to build a sufficient lead over the long-time leader, as he was scheduled to ride Paco Boy for his trainer Richard Hannon in America on Saturday. But this latest news has most definitely put the cat amongst the pigeons, as Hughes looks to be fully focused on becoming the champ for the first-time in his career.
Hannon told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think there's every chance [he might stay], this means more to him I think - Breeders' Cup horses don't come along very often, but I think a shot at the title probably means he might well stay, certainly for Friday's racing.
"He won't be in this position again I don't think because Ryan [Moore] has missed a lot of this year, there's no time like the present so for that reason I think he might well stay and have a go at the title."
Both title contenders have seven rides each today at Wolverhampton, in what now looks like a battle that could well go down to the wire at the final flat meeting of the season at Doncaster on Saturday.
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