Richard Hughes (Photo: Japan Racing Association)
Britain’s champion jockey Richard Hughes clinched another title on Sunday when a winner and a third placing in the final two legs of the points-based World Super Jockeys Series at Hanshin racecourse, near Osaka, Japan, landed him the £20,000 first prize and a handsome trophy.
Ireland’s Pat Smullen rounded off the series with a win and took second place overall, ahead of Germany’s Andrasch Starke. Keita Tosaki, who went into the second day with a narrow lead over Ryan Moore, finished best of the local riders in fourth, with fading to eighth spot.
Hughes was the leading rider in a two-team invitation challenge in South Africa a fortnight ago, and now heads to Hong Kong seeking to complete his hat-trick in the Longines-backed international jockeys’ event at Happy Valley on Wednesday.
Hughes, who was appearing in the series for the first time, put himself in contention with a second placing on Saturday and took the lead when winning Sunday’s first leg – a 1m2f turf allowance race, the tenth of 12 on the card – on the three-year-old filly Western Rebecca, who proved a length and a half too good for Starke’s mount Shiny Heart’s.
Nine of the 15 jockeys went into the final round, a mile turf allowance race, with a chance of taking the series, and although Smullen landed the individual prize on the three-year-old Deep Impact colt Osumi Nine, Hughes’s third placing was sufficient to claim the overall honours. After his success, Hughes tweeted: “Very proud to win world super jockey series. Great two days roll on @HKJC_Racing Wednesday.”
