Waiting Patiently can strike blow in racing’s North-South divide, says Brian Hughes

Hughes, who lives in North Yorkshire with his young family, became the first Northern-based rider for 40 years to win the jockey’s title last year.

The 2019-20 title winner wants to prove that that success on Malton trainer Ruth Jefferson’s stable star was not a fluke and Hughes holds a comfortable lead in the 2020-21 campaign which ends in late April.

His closest pursuer is Harry Cobden, stable jockey to multiple champion trainer Paul Nicholls, who partners Queen Mother Champion Chase hero Politologue in today’s Matchbook Betting Exchange Clarence House Chase.

However Hughes, ever-present in the saddle during Waiting Patiently’s 11-race chasing career thus far, believes his mount has the qualities required to beat a horse of Politologue’s calibre.

Hughes said: “He’s an extremely talented horse and extremely versatile. He’s not overly big, but he’s very strong and muscly – and no matter what the trip is, he runs his race.

“We feel he doesn’t get the credit he deserves, because he’s a northern horse, but he’s a very good horse and has run very good horses to small margins when he’s been beaten.

“Hopefully he shows up again on Saturday, and I’m confident he’ll put up a big show.”

Hughes also believes it is important to have more big race success on his CV – his sole Grade One success to date came when Waiting Patiently beat the crowd favourite Cue Card in a thrilling renewal of the 2018 Ascot Chase.

However, he believes his top-level opportunities are more limited because he is based in the North.

“It’s brilliant when you’re riding lots of winners, but when you look back at your career when you’ve finished, you’d like to have a few big races on your CV,” he reflected this week.

“I’m lucky to have a horse like Waiting Patiently, but I’ve only got one of him – whereas other jockeys have 10 Grade One horses to ride.

“That is just the way the cards fall for different jockeys. You want to have Grade One winners, and trainers want to have them and owners want to have them – that’s always the dream.

“I feel there’s a lot of good trainers, owners and jockeys in the North, and we sort of seem to get looked upon as second-class citizens sometimes.

“I thought me being champion jockey was something everyone in the North could take a bit of credit for.”

Meanwhile, 2013 Grand National-winning jockey Ryan Mania is due to ride Sam’s Adventure in the Peter Marsh Chase if Haydock’s card beats the weather.

Mania’s win at Musselburgh yesterday on Little Mo was his 22nd of the current campaign, eclipsing the 21 winners that he recorded in his comeback season of 2020-21. He also landed a blow for the North at the start of this month when partnering Seeyouatmidnight to a popular win in Sandown’s Veterans Chase.

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