Paul Hanagan paid full tribute to his big rival Silvestre de Sousa after retaining his English Flat jockeys’ championship title.
Hanagan took the crown on the final day of last season after a thrilling contest with Richard Hughes, and the competition again rolled on to Doncaster on the last afternoon as De Sousa harboured hopes of a last-ditch glory bid.
The best De Sousa, who interrupted his title bid to ride Fox Hunt in last week’s Melbourne Cup, could have hoped for was to share the honours after a fabulous four-timer on Friday left him four short of Hanagan’s total.
However, the Brazilian had just four booked rides on Town Moor against Hanagan’s seven mounts and when he finished last on True Bond in the Betfred Mobile Nursery, it became impossible for him to catch the Warrington-born champion, who indicated a third straight title might not be top of his priority list next term.
“It’s a big relief. It feels like a big weight has been lifted and it’s gone right down to the wire again,” said Hanagan, who ended the campaign on 165 winners to De Sousa’s 161.
“Last night was incredible, but I’ve stuck at it and kept going.
“This season seemed to come around so quick. It didn’t feel like two minutes since the last season ended and the new one began, but in a good way the balls just kept on rolling.
“It didn’t feel as hard this year and I definitely learned a lot last season.
“It’s still been tough, but last year I spent a lot of time watching Richard Hughes on TV, whereas this year I was mainly riding in the same races as Silvestre.
“He’s been riding out of his skin and deserves a lot of respect. We’ve just had a quiet moment when he came up and shook my hand.
“I’m just going to enjoy this.”
Martin Harley already knew he had taken the champion apprentice prize before heading to Doncaster, beating Kieran O’Neill to the honours.
“I’ve had a fabulous year and it was great to be able to come here today with no pressure,” said Harley.
“It’s been a ding-dong battle all year with Kieran and it became a bit of a scrap towards the end and it was a relief to come out on top.
“He’s been bang on my heels all the way and gave me a really good run for my money,
“I’ve ended up with 58 winners and that’s a good tally.”
Khalid Abdullah was crowned champion owner with the likes of Frankel, Midday and Twice Over helping him to the prize while Richard Hannon was again the leading trainer.
AAP PA TURF
