Brian Hughes claims 1,000th winner – then wastes no time adding three more

Brian Hughes, the north's most successful rider, joined an elite band of jockeys to have partnered 1,000 winners over jumps in Britain and Ireland on Friday – and celebrated with a 35-1 treble on Saturday.

The 33-year-old, runner-up to Richard Johnson in the Stobart title race for the last two seasons, sits in third place this time, having passed a century of winners for the fifth season in a row.

He reached the 1,000 landmark on My Old Gold at Wetherby on Friday and wasted no time kicking on with a treble at Newcastle on Saturday.

TOP TEN CURRENT JUMP JOCKEYS

Richard Johnson 3,580 winners in Britain and Ireland
Ruby Walsh 2,732
Barry Geraghty 1,870
Davy Russell 1,389
Noel Fehily 1,342
Tom Scudamore 1,234
Paddy Brennan 1,162
Graham Lee 1,006
BRIAN HUGHES 1,003
Aidan Coleman 962

"Riding 1,000 winners obviously means a lot, it's a target you set yourself," he said. "When you've got AP McCoy riding 4,000 winners and Richard Johnson riding 3,500 it seems very insignificant but it's a decent enough milestone for me.

"My agent Richard Hale is brilliant; he gets me on the right horses and I hope I can add a few more. Thankfully, I pick rides up for every stable in the north near enough."

Hughes, who made his Grade 1 breakthrough on Waiting Patiently in the Ascot Chase last February, has had three victories at the Cheltenham Festival.

Brian Hughes claims his biggest success on Waiting Patiently in last year's Ascot ChaseCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Two of those came in the Close Brothers Novices' Handicap Chase on Ballyalton (2016) and Mister Whitaker (2018), with the third on the Tim Easterby-trained 2014 Fred Winter scorer Hawk High, who curiously instigated the jockey's treble at Newcastle on Saturday in the 2m½f novice chase.

Watch Brian Hughes win his first Grade 1 on Waiting Patiently

Originally from County Armagh, Hughes, who has also gained 22 winners on the Flat, started out with trainer Kevin Prendergast and he partnered his first winner on the Flat when Perugino Lady won at Downpatrick on October 9, 2002. The decision to relocate to Britain kick-started his career over jumps and he was crowned champion conditional in 2007-08.

Hughes, who linked up with trainer Donald McCain at the start of the season, is the 25th jockey to reach 1,000 winners over jumps in Britain and Ireland, and the ninth among current jockeys, with Sir Anthony McCoy's record-breaking total of 4,348 the benchmark.