Richard Hughes has become just the second jockey in Britain to ride seven winners on a program in a remarkable afternoon at Windsor.
Hughes, who virtually sealed the champion jockey title with his efforts, emulated Frankie Dettori’s famous feat at Ascot in 1996 just a year after threatening to quit the sport when he incurred a ban under the new whip rules.
“I’m over the moon – it’s great to do it,” Hughes told At The Races.
“I always said I might do it one day at Windsor, my lucky track.
“Without Richard Hannon I wouldn’t be doing any of it.
“Every day my kid, Harvey, says, ‘How many winners today? Six or seven?’.
“I tell him I won’t ride that many, but I have today.
“It’s been one thing after another this year and I owe a lot of thanks to a lot of people, especially my agent, Tony Hind.
“What a thrill. This is a great day.”
Hughes gave a hint of what was to come when he won the first two races on the eight-race card for his father-in-law Richard Hannon.
Victory on Pivotal Movement was followed by the win of East Texas and Hughes then donned the famous Khalid Abdullah silks for the Amanda Perrett-trained Embankment.
The most impressive winner, though, was for Australian ex-pat trainer Jeremy Gask on Magic Street.
The afternoon got even better for Hughes when Links Drive Lady made it five out of five for the rider in division two.
Although he was out of fortune when Ever Fortune finished third in a handicap, normal business was resumed 30 minutes later when the Hannon-trained Duke Of Clarence won.
Mama Quilla then put the seal on an unforgettable afternoon for Hughes when he won the last race for William Haggas.
Most bookmakers were thankful the seven-timer was not achieved on a Saturday.
“That was probably the cheapest seven-timer ever for the bookies,” said William Hill spokesperson, Kate Miller.
“The last time a high-profile jockey rode a big seven-timer it cost us STG7 million ($A11.05 million), so we’re very grateful that Richard timed his on a quiet Monday.
“We’ll pay out around STG100,000 but the figure could easily have been 10 times that if he’d chosen this Saturday instead.”
Coral representative David Stevens also breathed a sigh of relief.
Paddy Power, representing the Irish bookmakers of the same name, said said his firm was grateful for the race Hughes didn’t win.
“Hughesie getting beaten in the sixth leg saved us a payout that would have been close to STG2 million,” he said.
“It’s still been an expensive day as one punter won 85,000.
“It’s probably cost us three-quarters of a million pounds.”
