Hanagan to keep booting them home as rival is banned

It leaves the Yorkshire-based rider, who is nine winners clear of Hughes, on the brink of becoming the first Northern jockey to win the championship since Kevin Darley a decade ago.

Though the decision is a major boost to Hanagan's chances, he accepts that he, too, could fall foul of racing's authorities in the frantic final weeks of a long and tiring season, which began at Doncaster in late March and has seen the 30-year-old ride in over 920 races so far.

Hanagan also says that he hopes the championship is determined on the racetrack and not in the stewards' room.

With 15 rides over the next two days, the Malton rider, stable jockey to Richard Fahey, is leaving nothing to chance.

"I'm just going to keep going and do what I've been doing all season," said Hanagan who is on the 169-winner mark.

"I'm not going to change anything. I'm just trying to keep my head down. I do feel sorry for Richard – I've been in that situation a few times this season – and the decisions can be marginal.

"If it can happen to Richard, it can happen to me, which makes it even more important to keep booting home the winners.

"I hope it is decided on the racetrack – I've got to make sure that I keep out of the stewards' room.

"When you're tired and running on empty late at night, these things happen – you have to try and avoid them – but it's not easy. The margins are very fine."

While Doncaster's executive would clearly like the title race to go to the wire on November 6, and eclipse the battle between Jamie Spencer and Seb Sanders three years ago that ended in a dead-heat, Hanagan hopes the issue can be settled before then.

Bookmakers Sky Bet share his optimism. They make Hanagan a 1-8 on chance to win the title and 11-4 to win the championship by more than 15 winners.

Hughes is a 9-2 chance after being found guilty of careless riding when guiding Barney Curley's Aviso to success last Friday night.

Though he accepted that he caused interference to other horses on the bend past the winning post, the jockey argued that the severity of the punishment did not reflect the actual infringement.

He misses Champions' Day at Newmarket on October 16, plus every meeting from October 18-22.

To add to his woes, Hughes also sits out next Tuesday – the result of a careless riding ban imposed by the Newbury stewards last month.

"It's frustrating but there's nothing I can do about it and I've just got to keep going as hard as I can up until the day I'm banned," said Hughes. "Then I'll have to assess things when I get back. I'll give it a go and do my best, that's all I can do."

His solicitor, Andrew Chalk, added: "As you would expect, Richard presented a strong case for a reduction in penalty and he thought that he'd done more than enough to get a result.

"I thought they could have given more credit to the fact he (Hughes) looked, because often you see these races and nobody looks and they cause carnage.

"He did try to do the right thing but we all make mistakes, we make them in every day of our working life, but to get a six-day ban for it, at this stage of the season in particular, is obviously a bitter pill for Richard to swallow."

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Don't miss tomorrow's Yorkshire Post for an exclusive interview with Ryan Moore, the reigning champion jockey, and latest news from York.