Champion to be crowned at Anfield

WARRINGTON based champion jockey Paul Hanagan, a Liverpool supporter, will be presented with his trophy in a forthcoming match at Anfield.
The Warrington-born rider, who is 4-1 to retain his title in 2011 after beating Richard Hughes by two winners, said: “I am going to have a break now and I don’t
know when I will be back. I want to let it sink in.”
Following his famous victory Hanagan was mobbed and cheered all the way back to the weighing room, where he was hugged by colleagues.
He said: “I’m gobsmacked to be honest. I’d be here all day if I had to thank everybody who has helped me.”
“I’ve been in front from day one but I’ve lived the past week out of a suitcase going to Kempton and Lingfield.
“I owe the boss (Richard Fahey) so much, I’ve been with him for 14 years and I owe him a lot. Also my agent Richard Hale – without him I wouldn’t be here now.”
“It sounds great being called champion jockey, I think it will take a while to sink in.
“I’d just like to say what a gentleman Richard Hughes has been, I had a lot of respect for him before but even more now.”
Having led from the very first day of the campaign at Doncaster in March when Hanaghan rode a four-timer, he got to lift the trophy back on Town Moor.
He was forced to travel the length and breadth of the country in recent weeks in search of valuable winners, as Hughes pushed him every step of the way.
Despite never taking the lead, Irishman Hughes had been in insatiable form of late and closed the gap on a seemingly daily basis.