Dessie Hughes was an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
trainer and
jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
. He was the father of
British champion jockey,
Richard Hughes, and won at the
Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Rac ...
as both jockey and trainer.
Career
As a jockey
Hughes' most famous successes in the saddle came at the Cheltenham Festival. In 1977, he partnered the
Mick O'Toole
Mick O'Toole (18 September 1931 – 23 August 2018) was an Irish racehorse trainer, whose horses competed in both Flat racing and National Hunt racing, and was active from 1966 to 1996, winning major races both in Ireland and Great Britain durin ...
-trained Davy Lad to success in the
Cheltenham Gold Cup
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs ( ...
. Two years later, he was victorious in one of the most famous clashes in jumps racing history when
Monksfield rode to a famous victory over
Sea Pigeon
Sea Pigeon (1970–2000) was an American-bred, British-trained racehorse who excelled in both National Hunt and flat racing. In a racing career which lasted from 1972 until 1981 he competed in eighty-five races, and won thirty-seven times. He ...
in the Champion Hurdle.
As a trainer
Hughes had always planned to train and having prepared for three years, he took out his training licence in 1980.
Light The Wad was an early success for the fledgling yard, winning the Irish Arkle at
Leopardstown
Leopardstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. Located at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, it is a residential suburb with institutional lands and a large racecourse. It is ...
in 1982 and successive renewals of the Drogheda Chase at the
Punchestown Festival
Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish National ...
in 1981 and 1982.
That same year, 1982, he sent out
Miller Hill to win the
Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the
Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Rac ...
.
Other notable wins in the 1980s included Chow Mein in the 1985
Galway Plate, William Crump in the 1986
Huzzar Handicap Hurdle and Ballychorus Dream in the 1988
Drinmore Novice Chase.
For a long time around the turn of the decade, a persistent bug plagued the yard and success was hard to come by.
Major success returned with
Guest Performance who won six hurdle races between February 1996 and January 1997, before winning the Grade 3
Nas Na Riogh Novice Chase at
Naas
Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge.
History
The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...
in 1998. Hughes won the race again with Colonel Braxton in 2002, a horse which had also won the Grade 1
Menolly Homes Champion Novice Hurdle.
Hughes' most famous recruit,
Hardy Eustace, was picked up for a mere IR£21,000 in 2001, yet went on to win at the very highest level. In his novice hurdle season, he won the Grade 1
Royal Bond Novice Hurdle
The Royal Bond Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and ...
and the
Sun Alliance Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. The horse went on to win the 2004 and 2005
Champion Hurdle
The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a ...
s and the
Punchestown
Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish Nationa ...
equivalent in 2004. Success also came in the
Irish Champion Hurdle
The Irish Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and du ...
in 2007. By the time he retired at the end of the 2009/10 season, he had earned well over €1,000,000 in prize money.
Bought at the same sale as Hardy Eustace for a similar sum,
Central House was almost as successful, winning five Grade 2 contests, one Grade 1 and being placed in seven other Graded chases, accumulating just over €515,000 in prize money during his career.
Other Graded race winners have included Schindlers Hunt, Grangeclare Lark and
Grand National
The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...
performers
Rare Bob,
Black Apalachi and
Vic Venturi.
Former apprentice of Hughes',
Pat Dobbs
Pat Dobbs (born 1978) is a Group 1 winning Irish jockey. He is stable jockey for Richard Hannon Jr.
Career
Dobbs was born and brought up into a non-racing family in County Wexford, Ireland. He found racing an enjoyable alternative to school ...
spoke highly of his time with the yard. “Dessie did more work around the yard than most of us lads. He was first out every morning and used to muck out just across from me, telling me to hurry up when I was too slow. He was a great horseman and paid attention to every detail.”
Principal jockeys
*
Bryan Cooper
* Roger Loughran
* Ian McCarthy
* Mark Enright
*
Pat Dobbs
Pat Dobbs (born 1978) is a Group 1 winning Irish jockey. He is stable jockey for Richard Hannon Jr.
Career
Dobbs was born and brought up into a non-racing family in County Wexford, Ireland. He found racing an enjoyable alternative to school ...
Major wins
As a jockey
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
*
Aintree Hurdle
The Aintree Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (), ...
– (3) – ''
Monksfield'' (1977 (
dead heat
A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...
), 1978, 1979)
*
Arkle Chase – Tip the Wink (1977)''
Chinrullah (1979)''
*
Champion Chase
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the onli ...
– ''
Chinrullah (1980) (subsequently disqualified)''
*
Champion Hurdle
The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a ...
– ''
Monksfield (1979)''
*
Cheltenham Gold Cup
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs ( ...
– ''
Davy Lad
Davy may refer to:
* Davy (given name)
* Davy (surname)
* Davy lamp, a type of safety lamp with its flame encased inside a mesh screen
* Davy, West Virginia, United States, a town
* Davy Sound, Greenland
* Davy (crater), a crater on the moon
* ''D ...
(1977)''
*
Sun Alliance Hurdle – (2) – ''
Davy Lad
Davy may refer to:
* Davy (given name)
* Davy (surname)
* Davy lamp, a type of safety lamp with its flame encased inside a mesh screen
* Davy, West Virginia, United States, a town
* Davy Sound, Greenland
* Davy (crater), a crater on the moon
* ''D ...
(1975),
Parkhill (1976)''
*
Supreme Novices' Hurdle – ''
Mac's Chariot (1977)''
*
Stayers' Hurdle
The Stayers' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain. It is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles ...
– ''
Bit Of A Jig (1976)''
As a trainer
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
*
Champion Hurdle
The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a ...
– (2) – ''
Hardy Eustace (2004, 2005)''
*
Sun Alliance Hurdle – ''
Hardy Eustace (2003)''
*
Supreme Novices' Hurdle – ''
Miller Hill (1982)''
*
Triumph Hurdle
The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 f ...
–
Our Conor (2013)
----
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
*
Arkle Novice Chase
The Arkle Novice Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong (3 ...
– (2)
Light The Wad (1981)
Schindler's Hunt (2007)
*
Irish Champion Hurdle
The Irish Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and du ...
–
Hardy Eustace (2007)
*
Racing Post Novice Chase
The Racing Post Novice Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), chase in Ireland. The race is run at Leopardstown Racecourse in December, over a distance of 2 miles and 1 furlong ...
– (2) – Central House (2002),
Schindler's Hunt (2006)
*
Irish Grand National
The Irish Grand National is a National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs (5,834 ...
–
Timbera (2003)
*
Spring Juvenile Hurdle
The Spring Juvenile Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland. It is run at Leopardstown Racecourse in February, over a distance of 2 miles. The race is restricted to four-year-old horses only a ...
-(3) –
Mutineer (2003),
Our Conor (2013),
Guitar Pete (2014)
*
Growise Champion Novice Chase
The Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 3 miles and ½ furlo ...
–
Rare Bob (2009)
*
Punchestown Champion Hurdle
The Punchestown Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during ...
–
Hardy Eustace (2004)
*
Morgiana Hurdle
The Morgiana Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles and half a furlong ...
–
Hardy Eustace (2008)
*
Royal Bond Novice Hurdle
The Royal Bond Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and ...
-
Hardy Eustace (2002)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Dessie
Irish racehorse trainers
Irish jockeys
2014 deaths
1943 births