PAUL HANAGAN reckons avoiding suspensions has helped him get one hand on the jockeys’ championship trophy.

The Ryedale rider is on the verge of making history as the only northern-based jockey to win two Flat crowns, having lifted the title last year.

And while much of the sport has been shrouded in controversy in recent weeks due to new rules on using the whip, Hanagan says avoiding the stewards’ room has been a big help to him as he closes in on retaining his gong.

“I’m quite proud of myself this year for not getting many bans,” he said. “A lot of people might say that if he (Hanagan’s main rival Silvestre De Sousa) hadn’t have been banned it (the title race) would have been a lot tighter, but I feel that I have done particularly well not to get bans here and there. I’ve ridden more than anyone, so I think I’ve done really well not to pick up any bans.

“The last few years I have hardly been in the stewards’ room, apart from recently when I got five days under the new whip rules.

“I went one over the limit, but when you’re riding a two-year-old on tough ground who is pulling up in front, it is hard.”

Hanagan goes into today’s racing with a commanding lead over North Yorkshire-based Brazilian De Sousa.

That lead was extended this week by a treble on Tuesday as de Sousa was flying back from Australia having ridden in the prestigious Melbourne Cup.

That trip kept the Thirsk-based ace off the British tracks for two days, and he missed a previous day through suspension.

When asked if that absence was a boost, Hanagan said: “Yeah, I did see him missing two days and thought that he might have sacrificed his chance to challenge me.

“I was there when he got his ban, and I thought, ‘That is a big boost for me now,’ as it definitely puts things in my favour when it was going to be tight.

“Then when I found out he was going to Australia, that was a big help too.”

De Sousa edged one winner closer in the first race at Southwell yesterday, on the Mark Johnston-trained 4-11 favourite Kinloch Castle.

The duo drew a blank on the remainder of the Southwell card before heading to last night’s Wolverhampton meeting.