Sean Bowen collected the Jump jockeys’ championship trophy for the second time on bet365 Jump Finale day at Sandown Park on Saturday.
The 241 winners ridden by the 28-year-old this season has only been bettered once in history and that was by the sport’s most successful jockey of all-time – Sir AP McCoy – who partnered a record 289 winners in the 2001/02 season.
Reflecting on his second championship, Bowen said: "The numbers this year have been incredible and I'm a very, very lucky boy.
"Richard Johnson had the record for the second most winners ridden in a season and that was 235. I surpassed that at Ffos Las a couple of days ago, which was nice. It's obviously only AP to beat now, so that will take a bit of doing!
"AP and Dickie were the people I looked up to and to be even riding the same sort of winners they were numbers-wise, I think how lucky I am.
"I suppose numbers-wise I'm getting there. I'd obviously love to be riding the sort of Grade One winners as well and I've no doubt they're going to come, but obviously finding those horses isn't very easy.
"I'd love to hold the record for the amount of winners (in a season). Obviously, you see Dan Skelton talking about his aim to also do that with Martin Pipe's record.
"Obviously AP set incredible numbers but I don't think it's something that's impossible to do. It'll obviously take a lot of work and a lot of hard work, but yes, if it's something I can do, I'll definitely be trying.
"I work for some very, very good people. I have such a good support team around me - my family, my wife Harriet, and then the trainers I ride for. I think the support team around you is a big help. And yes, obviously I have an agent, Alain Cawley who is brilliant. Andrew Thornton, I speak to every day. He's sort of a bit of a jockey coach. To have good people around you definitely helps."
Skelton finally lands trainer title
Having narrowly lost out on the last day of the season for the past two years, Dan Skelton was finally crowned champion Jump trainer for the first time at Sandown on Saturday.
And he put the icing on the cake as Queen Maeve and Doyen Quest helped him finish with over £5,000,000 in prize-money for the campaign, a new record.
He said: "It has been something I wanted to do for as long as I can remember being involved in the sport.
“I've said this week that I grew up around this mentality - when I worked for Paul (Nicholls) for nine and a half years, every year the objective was to be champion trainer.
“And before that, my father (Nick Skelton) held this one goal above all, which was to win an individual Olympic gold medal. So, I've kind of been motivated by those two things to achieve this.
“Some people might say is that the right thing or the wrong thing to hold dearest? And I suppose, holding dearest is probably not quite the correct term, but it's something that I've always wanted to do.
“There's obviously the desire to win Gold Cups, Grand Nationals and all that type of thing. But I just think actually now we've achieved it (the trainers’ championship) - it feels so important to have done it, not on a personal level, but on a team level.
“It's absolutely blown my mind how everybody has got so sort of behind this on our team. Obviously, the staff on a day-to-day basis are going out there, getting the horses ready and taking them to the races.
“But beyond that, owners who have probably seen us defeated and deflated on the last day of the season for the last two years, they've really, really made this happen and enjoyed being part of making this happen. It's more than I ever thought it would be, to be honest with you."
Durrell celebrates conditional title
Tristan Durrell celebrated his champion conditional title in style when the aforementioned Queen Maeve landed the opening Changing Young Lives At Jamie's Farm Fillies' Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at 20/1 for the rider at Sandown on Saturday.
Durrell, 24, finished up with 48 victories after his win for boss Dan Skelton in the first race on the card.
Looking back on his season, Durrell said: “It's obviously a breakthrough season, as I've had nowhere near as much success in the past as I have this season.
“It started off good. I had a few winners through the summer, and I was getting a lot more rides after October and a lot more success.
“Probably the real breakthrough was having a big winner on Panic Attack in the Coral Gold Cup and it kind of took off even more from there.”
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