As the curtain fell on the 2015 Glorious Goodwood Festival, so too arrived the final call for Richard Hughes in the saddle.
Fittingly, 27 years on from riding his first winner in 1988, Hughes brought the curtain down at Goodwood – a track which has provided him with more than 50 wins at the iconic summer ‘Glorious’ meeting.
For a while the five-day meeting appeared destined to snub Hughes, out of luck on the opening two days, filling the runners-up spot multiple times.
On Thursday, that all changed in the opening race as Hughes steered Gibeon, trained by his brother-in-law and long-time partner in crime Richard Hannon, to victory in the Land Rover Stakes.
It was a typically frantic finish as Hughes desperately urged his mount to get over the line with Frankie Dettori on board the favourite Keble for John Gosden wearing him down with every stride.
Hughes prevailed – as he so often has over the years – and declared afterwards the sense of relief at having got one winner on the board during his final week in the saddle.
Hughes quipped that he could at least retire happy having scored one winner and sure enough more winners followed before he consigned the rider’s breeches to history.
There is no sadness for the 42-year-old as he retires from the saddle.
Less than a year on from the passing of his late, legendary father Dessie, Hughes junior will take up a new career training racehorses.
The three-time champion jockey is ready to begin at his new home, the historic Danebury Stables in Stockbridge where Richard Hughes Racing will have its base.
The name of R Hughes will soon be prominent again on the Betfair market, switching column from jockey to trainer but no doubt with similar results and success over time.
Hughes had originally intended to retire as a jockey when the flat season ended later in the year but, such are the demands on his time getting ready for his new career, he felt he could simply no longer commit enough of himself to riding winners.
He caused a mild shock in the racing world in early July when he confirmed that Glorious Goodwood would be the final swansong for him.
There is no shock however in the fact that Hughes will remain an endearing and prominent face for racegoers and fans of racing.
Getting “out” of the family business was not something that had ever crossed his mind.
“I love racing, it’s in my blood. No matter what I was doing, if I was driving the box I’d still like it. I look forward to my next career as a trainer and I’m very lucky to walk into it,” he said at Goodwood.
Hughes has already been to a number of sales and he will have a skeleton team at Danebury Stables almost from the moment he stepped away from the saddle.
He does not intend to stand still for long however, confirming his desire to have more than 50 horses in training before the turn of the year.
He also reports a steady trickle of owners that have given their word horses will be sent to his new yard to get him started – promises that Hughes is intent will be kept.
While nothing is yet set in stone, he hopes to have an initial team of 10-15 horses in place very soon while he will busy at the autumn sales and confirmed his desire to have somewhere in the region of 60 horses in his care by the turn of the year.
Hughes has yet to reveal any plans regarding his likely jockey bookings when he begins to send his fledgling team to the racecourse.
He would reveal only that he will “use the best available” to him but, remembering his own beginnings nearly 30 years ago, he promises to give youth every chance to excel.
According to Hughes, the apprentices that come to Danebury for the early morning graft will have their rewards too as he seeks to safeguard the future of this game that has enriched his life.
He recalls the opportunities that were given to him as a mere boy looking to make his mark and confirms he hopes to follow the same principles in allowing youth the chance to shine.
In contrast to the scenes that greeted AP McCoy’s retirement from jumps racing a few months before, Hughes bears no sadness as he exits the main stage.
There is no looking back here. No desire to go back ten years and do it all again.
For Richard Hughes this is not the end, but a new beginning. A brand new chapter is waiting to be penned.
It is not hard to imagine that it will be a chapter crammed with glory on the racecourse.
