Richard Hughes

The breeze-up season gets underway this month with the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale - which takes place from April 13 to 15 - followed by the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale - on April 21 and 22. Few trainers have enjoyed better luck than Richard Hughes when it comes to sourcing horses from that sphere.  The Group 1-winning handler has big-race targets for breeze-up graduates Rose Ghaiyyath (Ghaiyyath), America Queen (Havana Grey) and Nobody Knows (Wootton Bassett). Meanwhile, the Group-placed Bella Lyra (Oasis Dream) has recently been sold to continue her...

Group 1 winner No Half Measures (Cable Bay) has been retired according to trainer Richard Hughes. The R. P. Gallagher runner's biggest claim to fame was her victory in the G1 July Cup Stakes. She also won the G3 Trophy Stakes and Listed Prix Moonlight Cloud in 2024. Bred by Bumble Bloodstock and Mrs. S. Nicholls, she retires the winner of seven of her 16 starts with $735,634 in earnings. "We were thrilled with the run, we might have been a little bit unfortunate that it didn't come up soft...

FAIRYHOUSE, IRELAND - On a day when even the wildest expectations for the opening session of the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale were exceeded, Peter Nolan enjoyed a result he will never forget when his homebred colt by first-season sire Blackbeard was knocked down to Ted Durcan for €165,000. That result represented a shrewd piece of business for Nolan who went with his gut when deciding not to part with the Blackbeard colt as a foal, thus reaping the rewards for sitting on his hands until the yearling sales.  It...

Following Monday's confirmation stage, French star Lazzat, July Cup heroine No Half Measures (Cable Bay) and the supplemented Sky Majesty (Blue Point) feature among 22 possible runners in Saturday's Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock. Jerome Reynier's Lazzat got the better of Japanese ace Satono Reve when striking Royal Ascot gold in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on his penultimate start. The son of Territories then suffered a surprise defeat when bidding for back-to-back wins in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville last time, but he is...

DONCASTER, UK -- For the third year in succession, Highflyer's Anthony Bromley and owner Phil Cunningham dominated the Goffs Premier Yearling Sale, coming away from day one with six horses bought for a combined sum of £717,000. That spend included one of the most expensive horses sold on Wednesday - a Showcasing half-brother to high-class sprinter Washington Heights - at £180,000. It was at this sale in 2023 when Cunningham enlisted the services of Bromley, widely regarded as one of the best judges of equine talent there is. The pair...

July Cup-winning Richard Hughes's breakthrough summer as a trainer got better on Thursday as Rose Ghaiyyath (Ghaiyyath) landed Deauville's valuable Arqana Series des Pouliches. Always prominent under Christophe Soumillon, Jaber Abdullah's 6-1 shot started to gain the upper hand inside the last 1 1/2 furlongs and clung on gamely to deny Zaravina (Zarak) by a short head for another British one-two in the card's sales races. Like the winner of the colt's equivalent, Northern Champion, Rose Ghaiyyath is a graduate of the Arqana May Breeze-Up, having cost €110,000. Her dam...

Owner-breeder Jaber Abdullah has a reputation for being one of the shrewdest judges around, but even a man with over three decades of experience in the sport can suffer from a crisis of confidence. Abdullah himself discovered as much just last month, on the eve of the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. There his royal blue silks with white striped sleeves and white cap were carried by the Richard Hughes-trained Sayidah Dariyan, who massively outran odds of 66/1 in finishing fourth, beaten just a length and a quarter, behind Time...

Jaber Abdullah's America Queen (Havana Grey), a €180,000 graduate of May's Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up sale, made a start on recouping that investment with an impressive debut performance in Thursday's Selecta Systems EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes over six furlongs at Haydock. The Richard Hughes trainee, who was originally knocked down for €48,000 as Goffs November foal, went postward as the 11-8 favourite and tracked the leaders from a midfield berth through the early fractions. Making smooth headway from halfway to assume control passing the quarter-mile marker, she quickened clear and was...

Richard Hughes is eyeing a breakthrough Classic as a trainer this season--but admitted that high-class prospects Queen Of Zafeen (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) and Star Music (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) would likely bid for big-race glory in Germany or France rather than take on the big guns domestically.  Both fillies will test their Classic credentials next month with Hughes stating that he has built up his strongest team yet. Queen Of Zafeen and Star Music are owned by Jaber Abdullah and, while they hold entries in the Qipco 1,000 Guineas, the Weathercock...

There is a new name over the door at Copper Beech Stables, one of the finest training establishments in Ireland, with trainer Cormac Farrell confirming that he has taken over the yard from Michael Halford. It was last February when Halford, who had sent out almost 500 winners from Copper Beech Stables in 16 full seasons, including Group 1 scorer Casamento (Ire), announced that he had taken the decision to combine forces with Tracey Collins under the banner of Conyngham Lodge.  Farrell, a respected trainer in his own right but...

Oisin Murphy continued his red-hot streak of success around the world with a first trip to Mumbai yielding a victory in the  Indian 1000 Guineas aboard heavy favourite Jendayi (Ind) (Gleneagles {Ire}). The same connections scored a race prior in the R J Kolah Trophy with Chamonix (Ind) (Dunaden {Fr}), landing Murphy and Jendayi's conditioner Pesi Shroff the double. The jockey follows a similar path Richard Hughes enjoyed in riding a Classic winner for the decorated local trainer, who lays claim to the remarkable achievement of winning both the Indian...

The first major yearling sale of the autumn in Britain or Ireland, the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale provided entertainment from the beginning to the end, but most importantly, boasted impressive figures. Brian Sheerin was in attendance and discusses the major talking points from the sale. Figures on the up The team at Goffs UK could hardly have wished for a better start to the Premier Yearling Sale. The day one figures were off the charts. Of the 218 lots offered on Tuesday, 199 were sold, representing a clearance rate...