THE JUMP JOCKEYS CHAMPIONSHIP -- SKELTON or HUGHES?
April 14th, 2021
With the Irish trained horses dominating the major jump racing festivals in the UK this year, and with the wonderful Rachael Blackmore receiving all the well-deserved plaudits for her exploits at Cheltenham and Aintree, it’s time to focus on the tremendous battle for the British jump jockey’s title.
For years it was dominated by A P McCoy, on his retirement Richard Johnson took the crown, but last year, with virtually no crowds, northern based rider Brian Hughes took the title for the first time.
This year however, we’ve seen a titanic struggle! Hughes has led for most of the season, but in recent weeks Harry Skelton, backed primarily by the powerful yard of his trainer brother Dan, has taken the initiative.
As I write, Harry has overtaken Brian with a treble yesterday at Southwell and is now clear favourite to win the title for the first time. Looking at the stats, Harry Skelton has 139 winners from 622 rides, a strike rate of 22%, compared with Brian Hughes 137 winners from a massive 833 rides a strike rate of 16%.
There’s a stark contrast in the make-up of each jockey’s winners, Harry has recorded 126 winners from riding brother Dan’s horses, whereby the leading supplier of Brian’s winners is Donald McCain’s stable (46). In recent weeks Harry has secured more rides from outside stables and that looks like it could be the deciding factor.
Let’s hope injury does not play a part as we enter the last 10 days of the jump racing season, both riders deserve immense credit for a terrific title challenge.
Doug Woodward doug@recgc.com
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For years it was dominated by A P McCoy, on his retirement Richard Johnson took the crown, but last year, with virtually no crowds, northern based rider Brian Hughes took the title for the first time.
This year however, we’ve seen a titanic struggle! Hughes has led for most of the season, but in recent weeks Harry Skelton, backed primarily by the powerful yard of his trainer brother Dan, has taken the initiative.
As I write, Harry has overtaken Brian with a treble yesterday at Southwell and is now clear favourite to win the title for the first time. Looking at the stats, Harry Skelton has 139 winners from 622 rides, a strike rate of 22%, compared with Brian Hughes 137 winners from a massive 833 rides a strike rate of 16%.
There’s a stark contrast in the make-up of each jockey’s winners, Harry has recorded 126 winners from riding brother Dan’s horses, whereby the leading supplier of Brian’s winners is Donald McCain’s stable (46). In recent weeks Harry has secured more rides from outside stables and that looks like it could be the deciding factor.
Let’s hope injury does not play a part as we enter the last 10 days of the jump racing season, both riders deserve immense credit for a terrific title challenge.
Doug Woodward doug@recgc.com