YOU can’t help but pull for someone like Barry McHugh. Dedication, hard work and commitment have been hard-wired into the 27-year-old Irishman – and he is finally getting his time to shine in the saddle.

McHugh knows about the dark side of racing.

He has been through the tough times. When the winners weren’t coming, when he struggled with his weight. He didn’t look for excuses.

He persevered, got his head down and looked to improve.

Rarely have you seen such joy in a winner’s enclosure after the popular McHugh drove Knot In Wood to victory in the Sky Bet Dash at York Racecourse last July.

The County Tyrone lad was mobbed – by the owners, by his friends and his workmates at Richard Fahey’s juggernaut of a stable at Malton’s Musley Bank.

Among all those winning horses, and there were 165 of them at Fahey’s last year, this meant a lot.

That’s because it was the opening.

To say McHugh has kicked on since is to state the absolute obvious.

At Ayr, he came within a whisker of carrying off the hat-trick of Gold, Silver and Bronze Gold Cups – successfully lifting the latter two on Kaldoun Kingdom and Baldemar.

Then the £40,000 Coral Sprint Trophy was landed at York as Kaldoun Kingdom won again.

McHugh surely didn’t want the Flat season to end.

But spurning the chance to go to Dubai during the winter, McHugh buckled down on the all-weather and the results were sensational. If 25 winners in 2009 were a highpoint in a career which had previously yielded a best of 11, then 2010 could blow his mind.

Sixteen victories were already on the books for the 3lb claimer before the action returned to the turf at Doncaster last weekend and they have instilled a confidence, and a belief, in McHugh which looks hard to budge.

He will never be complacent, he’s been through too much for that, but McHugh believes every time he sits on a horse that victory is almost inevitable.

“Winning at York on Knot In Wood gave me more confidence,” he told Turf Talk.

“I gave out and am giving out more confident rides. Ever since then, I think I am going to win every race. I am giving myself, and the horse, every chance.

“I was contemplating going to Dubai but I am glad I didn’t in the end. I had plenty of winners for Brian Ellison (on the all-weather) and things just took off.”

McHugh originally joined Fahey in 2005, going there as an apprentice, but things didn’t click and he was unable to ride a winner. He went back to Ireland.

“It was a problem with my weight,” he added. “I was quite heavy back then. I thought I would go back to Richard and become an amateur and see how I went and maybe I could progress as a professional.

“I got my weight sorted, I won the amateur championship (in 2006) and it helped doing that. I got a lot of experience and I started to get recognised.”

Weight is no longer an issue, and McHugh enjoys life at Musley Bank where everyone’s opinion is vital.

He said: “Richard has a big operation and there is a chance of getting on the good runners.

“He has been good to me and he’s loyal. I have been there five years and he has given me a chance every year.

“You are talking to sensible people (in his yard). They are telling you the right things. You are not just going in there as a number. They want to know what you think and that makes you feel part of the team.

“They want your opinion. Robin O’Ryan (Fahey’s assistant trainer), for example, is a very clever fellow and to listen to him – it’s just unbelievable what he knows about the racing game.”

While Fahey is his principal supporter, McHugh has formed an association with fellow Malton trainers Brian Ellison, Ollie Pears and Julie Camacho which is allowing him to frequent the winner’s enclosure with regularity.

And there is no danger of him being a one-season wonder. He knows the pitfalls and he has seen too many talented young riders fail to get caught in the same trap.

“You see a lot of people come and go very quickly,” he continued.

“There are lads coming and they ride loads of winners and after their claim has gone no-one wants to know.

“I am getting established and I know what it is like. I have gained a lot of experience and I have got some good contacts with Ollie Pears, Brian Ellison and Julie Comacho.

“Brian is a master of the job, the same with Ollie.

“I have had 16 winners so far and I would like to get 40 winners this year, get more contacts and more people willing to put me up.

“The more your name is out there, the more winners you can have. Big winners always help you. I am really looking forward to this season. I am really positive and I can’t wait to be riding plenty of winners.”