Victory on Fighting Chance at Newbury proved a landmark for Richard Johnson as the perennial bridesmaid to Tony McCoy in the championship race reached 2,000 career winners.
Johnson had moved to within one of the magical figure with a double at Hereford on Sunday, but was out of luck on his sole ride of the day on Monday, while his trip to Folkestone on Tuesday was thwarted through frost. However, he made no mistake at the Berkshire venue.
Fighting Chance, trained by Richard Lee and sent off the 4-1 favourite, beat Wheels Up - ridden by McCoy - in the Powersolve Electronics Greatwood Charity Handicap Chase.
Johnson, 32, said: "It was a bit frustrating after the second ride when the horse (Quinz) fell, but it's just lovely to get to this mark and I'm just very lucky really. I think AP (McCoy) was just being nice to me not coming by me up the straight. It's fantastic to get here and there are too many people to thank."
While undoubtedly one of the finest jump jockeys ever, Johnson remains frustrated in his pursuit of McCoy, finishing second in the title in 11 of the last 12 seasons.
Johnson added: "AP shows no signs of stopping and I'll keep trying to get in front of him. He is not keen on letting anyone by him but as long as I'm enjoying it, I am not planning on stopping soon."
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