In an epoch filled with strange days, Brian Hughes has described his ascent to champion jockey in Britain as "surreal".
Hughes was 19 winners clear of nearest rival and defending champion Richard Johnson when the escalating coronavirus pandemic forced officialdom to draw stumps on the National Hunt season with six weeks remaining.
He may not have the name recognition of Johnson, Tony McCoy or Richard Dunwoody, but his 141 winners from 716 rides has seen him become just the fourth individual to be crowned as the leading rider over jumps in the last quarter of a century.
"It's a bit surreal," the self-effacing Armagh man told Game on listeners on RTÉ 2FM.
"I didn't ever think something like this would be possible for someone like me.
"I suppose the disappointing thing is that I would have liked to see the season through until the end."
The 34-year-old is also the first jockey based in the north of England to achieve the feat since Jono O'Neill back in 1980.
The north-south divide in racing is ever-growing, but a winner at Catterick or Wetherby counts in the title race just as much as a victory at one of the more illustrious southern racecourses.
Hughes has plenty of supporters, without the backing of a mega-yard that can provide him with an arsenal of equine ammunition.
"I ride for big enough teams, without riding for the biggest yards in the country," he explained.
"I never really thought I would be in a position where I could become champion jockey."
Expanding on the challenges he faced, he added: "When I first started, there were a lot of bigger yards, now there's a lot less horses and racing in the north.
"You find yourself going south, where you would struggle to be as competitive.
"I'm very lucky, in that I get the lion's share of the pick of the rides up in the north, which helped me ride a good number of winners.
"There is more racing in the south, but there are bigger yards and it's quite competitive."
Hughes' route to the top took home from the rolling hills of the Orchard County to the plains of the Curragh and a stint with the legendary Kevin Prendergast, before he swapped the Flat for jumps, making the move across the water to Howard Johnson's yard.
Hughes' frame meant that forging a future on the Flat was likely to be a non-runner, but he also confessed: "I didn't have the ability to be a Flat jockey."
The steady progress and alliances formed in recent seasons have been cited as foundations for success, as has avoiding 'seconditis' - a deadly disease for would-be champion jockeys.
"I felt in the last couple of seasons that I've been fitter," Hughes said.
"I've been preparing for the season better and tried to be more consistent and tried to make less mistakes.
"Every season, if you look at the statistics, the seconds for me... there were too many of them.
"You're trying to turn the seconds into winners. I'd a lot less placed horses and more winners."
An impromptu end to the season means the title success hasn't been celebrated. For now, that - along with the bubbly - is on ice. But Hughes may need his arm twisted to mark the occasion in a way that legends of the past were known to toast a jockey title.
"I'm quite a shy person and I wouldn't be one for parties," Hughes revealed.
"I don't think it's the most important item on the agenda for the people that are organising the thing (racing).
"Hopefully they can get racing back on sooner rather than later and I'm sure there will be some sort of presentation then."
