Jumps legend Peter Scudamore says championship leader Brian Hughes would be a worthy addition to exclusive 200 winners in a season club

Hughes has so far won a career-best 187 races in the 2021-22 season – 90 more than his nearest pursuer Harry Skelton – and will be crowned champion jockey for the second time on April 23.

No jump jockey based in the North has ever recorded more winners in a single season than Hughes – his current tally already surpasses the 149 winners which the legendary Jonjo O’Neill achieved in 1978-79.

And just three riders in history – the aforementioned Scudamore, Sir AP McCoy and Richard Johnson – have achieved the 200-winner milestone.

Scudamore, who became the first jockey to achieve the feat when winning 221 races in 1988-89, says Hughes will be a very worthy addition to the club.

Now assistant trainer to 2017 Grand National-winning trainer Lucinda Russell, Scudamore also credits Hughes for having the single-mindedness to focus on the title race.

“What he has set out to be, above all else, is to be champion jockey and this is what it is all about,” the eight-time champion jockey told The Yorkshire Post.

“When I was riding, you still wanted to win the likes of the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup, but the championship was the priority and the rest then came up for discussion.

“If you have ridden more winners than anyone else, you deserve it. If you don’t want to work for it, fair enough. But I don’t know how he (Hughes) does it.

“I’ve seen him have some falls and think he will be out for a while. The next thing you know is that he is winning the next race.”

Scudamore says it is important to remember that it was not uncommon for champion jockeys to be based in the North in the 1970s, with Tommy Stack, Ron Barry and Jonjo O’Neill all achieving the feat.

What is exceptional, he stresses, is the level of dominance being enjoyed by Hughes at a time when there are many top class professionals competing on the Northern racing circuit each day.

Hughes first became champion in 2019-20 – the campaign was curtailed due to Covid – before being overhauled by Skelton, the current title-holder, in the final furlong of last season’s title race.

Scudamore also believes that the National Hunt title race is the greatest challenge in sport because of the demands placed on jockeys for 52 weeks.

“The standard of riding in the North is as good as I’ve seen it for many years. In what other sport do you face such pressure for 365 days of the year?” he ventures. “There can be no other sport where you have to do more to be champion.

“Pressure. On the go. The weight. The falls. The mental and physical demands. Schooling. The toll on your family. Doing your homework. I know things have evolved, and I was the first to do it, but I did it because of Martin Pipe. Brian’s worked very hard to create this opportunity – and he has taken it.”

Scudamore also observes that the championship is also a supreme test of horsemanship because of the importance of accumulating winners at the lesser meetings – Hughes, for example, did not have a ride at this month’s Cheltenham Festival.

“It is easier riding good horses than bad horses,” added Scudamore “I don’t think Brian has been given the recognition that he deserves, but I sense that this is beginning to change. He dominates through force of personality and that’s what champions do.

“You hear stories about Brian shouting orders to younger jockeys during races – it’s all part of imposing your personality in order to be completely dominant.”

Scudamore says next year’s Randox Grand National is the objective for Corach Rambler who came from near last to first to win the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

He also reports that young conditional Conner McCann is doing “remarkably well” after being taken to hospital following a fall at Kelso on Saturday that left the promising teenager with crush injuries.

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SANDY Thomson plans to saddle both Hill Sixteen and The Ferry Master in his bid for an elusive victory in Saturday’s Coral Scottish Grand National.

The Berwickshire-based trainer is looking for a change of luck in Ayr’s four-mile showpiece. “I’ve been second, third and fourth, so it would be great to win one,” he said. “Dingo Dollar and The Ferry Master were second and fourth last year, Seeyouatmidnight finished third a few years ago (2016).

“It doesn’t appear to have been the luckiest race for us, but hopefully that will change on Saturday.”

The Ferry Master was beaten just over seven lengths in last year’s renewal and returns for another crack from 5lb lower in the weights.

Becher Chase runner-up Hill Sixteen is perhaps not as well handicapped, however, having received a hefty rise for finishing second to Nuts Well in the Premier Chase at Kelso.

“I’m delighted with The Ferry Master. He’d been off the track for a while before Newcastle,” the trainer added.

“We could have done without Hill Sixteen getting 9lb for his run at Kelso. Both horses go there with a great chance, I think.”

A total of 31 horses were left in the Ayr marathon at yesterday’s confirmation stage.

Christian Williams has two leading contenders in Coral Trophy runner-up Kitty’s Light and Eider Chase winner Win My Wings, while former Cheltenham hero Vintage Clouds could represent Sue Smith.