Racing pays tribute to Dessie Hughes As a jockey, however, Hughes will be best remembered for his 1979 Champion Hurdle-winning ride on Monksfield, who beat the Jonjo O'Neill-ridden Sea Pigeon, in one of the great races in a golden era of hurdling. Speaking here, O'Neill said: "Dessie was a grand fellow, a great trainer and a great jockey, a lovely man. The only bad bit was that he was such a hard jockey to beat. He was very strong, had a good racing brain and, if you followed him, you never went far wrong. In 1980, he started training at Osborne Lodge on The Curragh and within two years was back at Cheltenham, wining the Supreme Novice Hurdle with Miller Hill. The hugely liked and respected trainer then had to wait 21 years for his next Festival successes. The remarkable Hardy Eustace won the 2003 Neptune, followed by two successive Champion Hurdles, the first at 33-1, the second as 7-2 joint-favourite. Conor O'Dwyer, who rode Hardy Eustace, said: "There's gentlemen and then there was Dessie Hughes. We had some brilliant times together, some of the best of my career. No one ever had a bad word to say about Dessie and Dessie never had a bad word to say about anyone. Noel Meade, seven-times champion trainer in Ireland, said: "He was a great friend and a pal to everyone, really. Dessie was the sort of fella that nobody would have a bad word to say about. It's hard to talk about. Nicky Henderson remembered Hughes fondly saying: "He was a great man, a lovely man. A great jockey, great trainer and a man it was always great to see.