Who is Philip Hobbs’ stable jockey?

Following the shock retirement of his predecessor, four-time champion jockey Richard Johnson, at Newton Abbott on April 3, 2021, Tom O’Brien has been stable jockey to Philip Hobbs. Born in Wexford on November 28, 1986, O’Brien – who is the nephew of Ballydoyle trainer Aidan O’Brien – originally joined Hobbs’ Sandhill Racing Stables in Bilbrook, near Minehead, Somerset as a stable lad in 2004. He left Ireland because of his frustration with the lack of opportunity in his native land, but wasted little time in making an impression in Britain. He became champion amateur jockey in his first full season and, having turned professional, became champion conditional jockey in 2006/07.

Indeed, the 2006/07 season, during which he rode 105 winners, was his most successful, numerically, so far. Having played ‘second fiddle’ to Richard Johnson for much of his career, he has not really come close to that figure since although, to his credit, he has ridden over 50 winners in ten of his 14 completed seasons with Philip Hobbs. On August 22, 2021, O’Brien took his career tally to 1,000 winners in Britain and Ireland, with victory on Heads Up, trained by Ian Williams, in a handicap chase at Worcester making him one of just seven active jockeys to reach that milestone.

Despite limited opportunities at the highest level, O’Brien has four Grade 1 winners to his name; he won the Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury on Souffleur, trained by Peter Bowen, in 2007, the Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown on Finian’s Oscar and Elixir De Nutz, both trained by Colin Tizzard, in 2017 and 2019, respectively and, most recently, the Liverpool Hurdle on Thyme Hill, trained by Hobbs, in 2021.

What are the highest rated Welsh Grand National Winners?

Although a prestigious race in its own right, the Welsh Grand National has thrown up its fair share of Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National winners. According to Timeform, the three ‘best’ or, in other words, the three highest-rated, Welsh Grand National winners since the early Sixties were Burrough Hill Lad, Master Oats and Carvill’s Hill. Indeed, all three were awarded a Timeform Annual Rating of 182 or more, such that they can be considered truly great steeplechasers of the Timeform era.

Trained by Jenny Pitman, Burrough Hill Lad rose to prominence in the 1983/84, during which he won all five starts over fences. After an encouraging seasonal debut, over hurdles, at Nottingham, Burrough Hill Lad justified favouritism in the Welsh Grand National, despite being ridden at 3lb overweight by John Francome. Three months, and three wins, later, Burrough Hill Lad won the Cheltenham Gold Cup, thereby making Jenny Pitman the first woman to saddle the winner of the ‘Blue Riband’ event.

Rated just 1lb inferior to Burrough Hill Lad, Master Oats, trained by Kim Bailey, had already run in the Grand National at Aintree, falling at the thirteenth fence in 1994, before he won the Welsh Grand National later the same year. The race was run on New Year’s Eve at Newbury, rather than Chepstow, but Master Oats proved himself one of the best staying chasers in training with an impressive, 20-length victory over Earth Summit. The following March, it was a similar story in the Cheltenham Gold Cup; he was ridden clear in the closing stages to win by 15 lengths and the same from Dubacilla and Miinnehoma.

 

Unlike Burrrough Hill Lad and Master Oats, Carvill’s Hill never won the Cheltenham Gold Cup, despite being sent off even-money favourite for the 1992. However, his 20-length win, from a high-quality field, which included subsequent Grand National winner Party Politics, in the 1991 Welsh Grand National, under 11st 12lb, was one of the easiest ever seen in the history of the race. Sadly, that proved to be his swansong, but Peter Scudamore nonetheless described him as ‘the best staying chaser I rode’.

 

What is the difference between a fence and a hurdle?

In National Hunt racing, participants are required to jump two basic types of obstacle, namely fences and hurdles. Fences, which are jumped in steeplechases, or chases for short, come in three different varieties, plain, open ditch and water jump; with the exception of the water jump, which is optional in any case, they are higher, less rigid and less forgiving than hurdles. A plain fence, which must be at least 4’6″ in height, consists of a rigid frame, made from steel or timber, stuffed with real or artificial birch – the density of which determines the ‘stiffness’ of the fence – and sometimes, but not always, ‘dressed’ with loose spruce topping. An open ditch is simply a plain fence preceded by a shallow ditch, several feet wide, to create a broader, more challenging obstacle.

Hurdles, on the other hand, are lightweight, portable panels of cut brushwood, which are hammered into the ground, side by side, to create a so-called ‘flight’ or hurdles. Each flight of hurdles must stand at least 3’1″ high and at least 30′ wide, but is nonetheless a relatively flimsy obstacle when compared to even the most innocuous steeplechase fence. In a hurdle race, it is not unusual for horses to kick out the top bar or knock individual hurdles flat.

Has Brian Hughes ridden a winner at the Cheltenham Festival?

The short answer is yes, he certainly has. In fact, he has ridden three. Hughes opened his Cheltenham Festival account on 33/1 chance Hawk High, owned by the late Trevor Hemmings and trained by Tim Easterby, in the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle in 2014. Two years later, he doubled his tally when winning the Close Brothers Novices’ Chase on Ballyalton, trained by Ian Williams. Two years later still, in 2018, he won the same race again, on Mister Whitaker, trained by Mick Channon.

Hughes, 36, won the conditional jockeys’ title in 2007/08 and the senior jump jockeys’ title in 2019/20, making him the first jockey based in the North of England to do so since the legendary Jonjo O’Neill four decades previously. Remarkably, though, despite riding 1,443 winners at the last count – including over a hundred in every season since 2015/16 – Brian Hughes has just one Grade 1 winner to his name. His solitary success at the highest level came aboard the aptly-named Waiting Patiently, trained by Ruth Jefferson, in the Betfair Ascot Chase in February, 2018.

Nevertheless, Hughes has amassed well over £1 million in prize money in each of the last five seasons. He currently leads the 2021 jump jockeys’ championship with 63 winners from 334 rides, at a strike rate of 21%, and is currently long odds-on to be crowned champion jockey for a second time when Saturday, April 23, 2022 rolls around.

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