Brian Hughes is now a two-time British Champion jumps jockey, with his work ethic and skill having transformed him from journeyman jockey to a prolific winner in recent years. Hughes has proved he is willing to go anywhere in the country in search of winners, something that can make it difficult to know where he may be lining up on any given day.

Brian Hughes Punchestown Rides

Fear not, though, we have got you covered on this dedicated page, where you can find all of the information on Brian Hughes’ rides today. The page will also show Brian Hughes' booked rides for tomorrow, and any rides he may be booked for in the future. If that wasn’t enough, we also provide live updated prices on all of his mounts from the best horse racing betting sites and betting apps from across the UK.

Brian Hughes Rides Today

If you need to know where Brian Hughes is riding today and which horses he is due to partner with, this is the section to find out. Brian Hughes rides predominantly in the north of the UK, but he has also shown his willingness to travel far and wide in search of winners. Keep a close eye here to keep up to date.

Brian Hughes Rides Tomorrow

As stated above, Brian Hughes rides at a variety of tracks throughout the week, so where he is due to ride tomorrow can be a tricky thing to keep track of. That’s what is great about this section, as all of the information on his whereabouts are available as soon as declarations are confirmed. We also have all available prices from the best betting apps and horse racing betting apps in the UK, as well as plenty of free bet offers.

Brian Hughes Future Rides

Here we have any horses that Brian Hughes is booked to ride in future races throughout the season. Obviously, prices are not always available, but there can be ante post horse racing betting for the bigger races, so keep a close eye to get the best early prices available.

Predicting Brian Hughes' Rides in Big Races

This section will be a tricky one. That is because, despite his successes and obvious talent, Brian Hughes continues to get overlooked when it comes to riding in the biggest races of the season. The main reason for this is that Hughes does most of his riding in the north of the UK, and many owners and trainers from that area don’t really target the big festivals down south, particularly the Cheltenham Festival. Below, our experts will attempt to predict some of his rides in the big races, although this might not always be possible. 

Who will Brian Hughes ride in the Grand National?

The Grand National meeting at Aintree is one of the few festivals that horses Brian Hughes rides are actually targeted at. Saying that, Hughes was surprisingly not involved in the Grand National last season, and his best finish to date was back in 2019 when Seeyouatmidnight finished 11^th. If he is to get a ride in next year’s showpiece, a lot will depend on whether any trainers who Brian Hughes rides for, have a horse that turns into a Grand National type throughout the season.

Who will Brian Hughes ride in the Champion Hurdle?

We have mentioned previously that the owners and trainers who book Brian Hughes to ride their horses don’t really target the Cheltenham Festival. For this reason, it would be no surprise for the defending Champion Jockey not to have a ride in the Champion Hurdle. Donald McCain’s Presentandcounting is a hurdler on the up, but it is doubtful he will be good enough for a race like this. He may be worth watching if turning up for some of the handicaps later in the week.

Who will Brian Hughes ride in the Champion Chase?

Again, Brian Hughes will most likely not be involved in the Champion Chase. The only real chance that he may have is if he picks up a spare ride on some of the leading trainers’ outsiders.

Who will Brian Hughes ride in the Gold Cup?

Brian Hughes did ride in the 2020 renewal of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, having picked up the ride on Willie Mullins’ outsider Real Steel. Despite being sent off at 50/1, Hughes managed to guide his mount to a sixth-placed finish, just seven-and-a-quarter lengths behind the winner Al Boum Photo. Hughes will likely have to pick up another spare ride if he is to be involved this season, having had no ride in the Cheltenham showpiece for the past two years.

Who will Brian Hughes ride in the King George?

It’s a consistent answer in this section, but Brian Hughes is not likely to have a ride in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. The only chances he may have of riding is if he picks up a spare ride, or if one of the regular northern-based horses he rides, matures into a top-level chaser.

Brian Hughes Biography

Brian Hughes was born on the 27^th June 1985 in Newtownhamilton, Co Armagh, Northern Ireland. He grew up around horses, which his father would keep in the fields around his house. Hughes’ only interest in life was to become a jockey, and after leaving school when he finished his GCSEs, he made the move to Co Kildare to join the RACE Academy - a place that had been churning out future top-level jockeys for some time.

Part of the course at RACE allows future apprentices to join a yard to ride out in, in the mornings, and Hughes was sent to learn his trade with legendary trainer Kevin Prendergast. Hughes would stay at Prendergast’s yard for four years and had his first rides on the track for the Curragh trainer. Having to battle with weight problems as he matured, Hughes was forced into the decision to move away from riding on the flat and instead turned his attention to jump racing. It was a decision that would change his life forever.

Making the move across the Irish Sea, Hughes joined the hugely successful yard of Durham trainer Howard Johnston. This was the start of his love affair with the north of England, somewhere that he set up camp for his National Hunt career, and a place he remains to this day. Johnston’s decision to bring in Paddy Brennan as stable jockey was a setback for Hughes, and he made the brave decision of becoming a freelance jockey throughout the north of England. It proved to be a decision well made, however, with plenty of support coming from owners and trainers, with his popularity spreading further north into the Scottish racing scene.

Hughes became a journeyman jockey of sorts, showing incredible commitment to his craft by travelling all over to pick up rides wherever they became available. It was trainer Donald McCain who eventually took advantage of Hughes’ talent, with the pair combining for many victories. This success resulted in him becoming the first-choice jockey to the successful trainer.

With the likes of AP McCoy and then Richard Johnson holding a monopoly on the champion jockey’s title, it seemed that Hughes was destined to remain as a mid-level jockey, just keeping the wheels slowly turning on his stuttering career. That would all change with the retirement of McCoy, as Hughes stepped up his efforts to move to the next level and battle Johnson and the likes of Sam Twiston-Davies and Harry Skelton for the title of champion jockey. Hughes eventually achieved his long-time dream of winning the title when winning 141 races in the 2019-20 season. He would lose his title the following season to Harry Skelton but reclaimed it in 2021-22, becoming only the fifth jockey to win 200 races in a season.

Despite all of his success, Brian Hughes continues to be overlooked when it comes to the big festivals. This is, in part, due to his northern trainers and owners not targeting the big meetings down south, but it is still incredible that his services are not used by more trainers when it comes to festival time, particularly at Cheltenham.

If he continues to ride 200+ winners every season, it will be hard for the top trainers to keep overlooking the winning machine’s obvious top-level ability.