Richard Hughes 1000 Guineas win proves he is the boss

Victory in the 200th running of the 1000 Guineas has capped the remarkable renaissance of champion Flat jockey Richard Hughes.

The Irish rider’s first British Classic win, on the grey filly Sky Lantern, was also a maiden success for his father-in-law, trainer Richard Hannon.

Hughes and Richard Hannon junior, who is about to take the training reins from his father, were part of warm celebrations after the 9-1 shot was led into the winner’s enclosure at Newmarket on Sunday.

And while the jockey took it in his stride, at 40 he was putting the seal on an amazing turnaround that saw him tackle a serious drink problem to win his maiden jockeys’ title last year and ride a record-equalling seven winners in one memorable day at Windsor.

With it has come a change in attitude from one where, as he acknowledged, he “thought people ran racing for me”.

There were times in the past – probably as long as a two-year period – when Hughes just did not enjoy being a jockey and the stress of keeping his weight down, but all that has changed.

His father Dessie, a leading National Hunt trainer in Ireland, told me: “He deserves it – he’s riding well. The thing is he loves riding now, just absolutely loves it.

“It was a good ride and the filly was very brave. She dug in a couple of times for him.

“He’s been here long enough now; he thought he had to ride an English Classic some time.”

At 5ft 10in, Hughes is very tall for a Flat jockey and his battle with alcoholism, partly sparked by a punishingly sparse diet, was frankly addressed in his 2011 autobiography A Weight Off My Mind.

Talking to the BBC two years ago, he said: “If I had a bad day, I would get drunk. If I had a good day, I would get drunk.

“Alcohol is cunning and baffling. When you’re off it a long time, you actually begin to believe you are OK. On a daily basis, I remind myself that I am an alcoholic and it’s not OK.”