'He'll ride anything - like AP' - agent determined to push Brian Hughes to 200

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The man behind Brian Hughes’s charge towards regaining the jump jockeys’ championship has spoken of his determination to push the leading rider to his first double-century haul.

Richard Johnson is the only jump jockey in Britain to surpass 200 winners in a season since the retirement of 20-time champion Tony McCoy at the conclusion of the 2014-15 season, but Richard Hale, the long-time agent of Hughes, believes his rider can cross the marker few have reached.

Hughes’s own record of 146 was within touching distance before racing on Tuesday and Hale is confident the 36-year-old, on 144 winners and more than 60 clear of nearest challenger Sam Twiston-Davies, can march on to 200 if he stays injury free.

Hale said: "I want to get him to 200. When he got to 100, I told him, if you ride 20 every month now, you'll get there. We set a target of 145 by the end of January and he's on 144. If the weather stays like this and Brian stays in one piece, I don't think he'll be a million miles off."

Brian Hughes: career stats and form

The pair have been working together for 17 years now, longer than many a marriage. "It seems to work," Hale says.

"I obviously pick his brains, so then I know so much about the horses and you're just looking at one, thinking, 'We need to be on that next time'. Then you try to help people when it comes time to make entries by getting them into the right races, I think you nick a few here and there by doing that.

"He's not scared to ride in low-grade races, he's not too fussy and picky. He won the two divisions of the low-grade hurdle on Sunday. AP would ride anything but there's been a lot of other top jockeys over the years that got a bit fussy. Brian's not like that. He doesn't care if it's a moderate horse in a moderate race; if it can win, he'll ride it and give it a ride."

Donald McCain: outstanding form has been pivotal to Brian Hughes's success this seasonCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Hughes has kept up the gallop with another 19 winners in January, headlined by Grade 2 success on Minella Drama at Haydock, and the 74 winners provided by Minella Drama’s trainer Donald McCain have been pivotal to the push for a second title.

Another View: Not enough fanfare around sublime season for unsung Brian Hughes (Members' Club)

Hale added: “I'm surprised how far he's in front. I keep looking at it. I remember, I kept saying we want to get 20 in front.

“We've not really had a lull, just kept tipping away nicely all the way through. Obviously it's a massive help that Donald's been in such consistently good form. His stats are ridiculous this year. You keep thinking, they're going to run out soon because it's not as though he's got 200 boxes or anything close.”

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The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday