MERCEDES-BENZ PARRAMATTA THE WORLD’S BEST JOCKEY Hugh and Winx suit each other. Hugh has a calm, conservative hand that balances the mare’s wild desire to win. Together, they have risen to world’s best horse and jockey status. Hugh is the reigning Longines World’s Best Jockey Award winner, which is judged on the results of the planet’s top 100 races. Winx helped Hugh reach the pinnacle of his profession, but it took a ride on another horse, in Japan, to secure the title. Hugh beat two-time World’s Best Jockey winner, Ryan Moore, to win the Japan Cup, one of the world’s most prestigious races, on Cheval Grand in November 2017 – his tenth major win for the year – to take the title. The win pulled him ahead of Moore, who also had a ride in the Japan Cup. Australian racing identity Dominic Beirne called it the ‘ride of the year … by the Jockey of the year’. Hugh bided his time behind the leader until around the 200m mark, when Cheval Grand found another gear to chase down leader Kitasan Black from several lengths behind. “For me, it’s about winning races,” says Hugh. “It’s nice for people to consider you the best in the world, but there are so many variables that it’s hard to put one jockey ahead of another. If you took the top 10-15 jockeys from around the world and gave them the right horse they would do the job.” 10 GAME