'It gets tougher every year' - Mick Appleby claims seventh title in all-weather championships

Mick Appleby praised his staff after after landing a sixth straight all-weather trainers' title but admitted he thought he had "no chance" of taking the crown in December.

Appleby was champion for the seventh time overall, sending out a personal-best total of 60 winners, and was presented with a trophy and a cheque for £10,000 at Newcastle on Friday.

"It's been great and I take my hat off to all the team at home," Appleby said. "They've done a great job all winter, riding out in blizzards, pouring rain and freezing cold.

"We've had 90 horses in all winter and luckily we've got a good team behind us."

Reflecting on the campaign, he added: "At Christmas I thought we had no chance. We were 15 behind George Boughey and I felt we'd be lucky to win it but then thankfully we had 20 winners in January. I keep saying, it gets tougher every year."

Daniel Muscutt was crowned champion jockey but missed All-Weather Championships finals day as he was riding at Lingfield, where he partnered Diderot to success, while Billy Loughnane was awarded leading apprentice. Philip Robinson received the trophy for top all-weather owner on behalf of Godolphin.

Muscutt said: "It's been enjoyable but there's lots of cold evenings, in the snow and all sorts, so it's nice to come out of the other end. My agent has done a very good job and I've had lots of support from a wide range of trainers, so it's a big thanks to them. The first two-thirds of it flew by and the last five weeks have dragged a little bit, but it's nice to get it over the line.

Daniel Muscutt awarded £10,000 for winning the all-weather jockeys' championshipCredit: Mark Cranham

"I like to be busy on the all-weather as it keeps my weight in check and it keeps me ticking over. I was pretty quiet until the turn of the year, most of my main trainers were only running in a maiden here and there, but we were ticking over nicely and then the bigger yards started to gear up again. It's been a good run to make up the deficit on Kevin [Stott] in mid-February, then slugged it out from then. 

Loughnane, who finished 25 winners clear of his nearest rival, said on Sky Sports Racing:  "Every minute of the season has been great. We didn't expect it to happen to be honest, we thought if we could hit ten it would be great for the winter and try to work into the summer. The way things have gone has been amazing – class!

"It's just a massive thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me through the whole thing. My Dad, he's obviously been a massive player, my jockey coach Rodi Greene and my agent Sash Righton – between us all, we've started off a good bond and it's been great."

Read more: 

'He's not out of practice!' - Oisin Murphy lands Championships day treble 

'He seems to have it all' - teenage star Billy Loughnane earns Ryan Moore comparisons  

Cameron Noble suffers fractured hip just two days into new Flat season 

Do you want £200+ of free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.