Cobden passes 1,000 winners milestone at Market Rasen

Harry Cobden ended his wait to pass the 1,000 British winners milestone with success aboard Indemnity at Market Rasen.

Cobden, who is stable jockey to 14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls, guided Emma Lavelle's charge home with authority over the extended two miles in Lincolnshire, ending a rare barren run in the plate.

After winning his last two starts at Huntingdon in April and Warwick in May, Indemnity was the 5-4 favourite to complete his hat-trick on his return from his summer break and victory looked inevitable when he cruised into the slipstream of Bowmore between the final two flights.

Cobden told Racing TV: "To be honest it's been a long couple of weeks as I was on 999 a few weeks ago, so I've had to wait a little bit but I'm delighted to do it.

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"I've had an unbelievable 10 years really, but obviously you can't do it without the owners, the trainers and the staff - there are so many to thank along the way.

"The majority of my winners have come for Paul Nicholls and his team at Ditcheat, so I'm very grateful for their support. Paul has given me some amazing days and thankfully we're only halfway there."

Cobden added: ""I wouldn't be a jockey without my parents and Ron Hodges, who got me into pony racing. Ron treated me like a member of his family from when I started with him as a nine-year-old and fuelled my love to be a jockey."

The 26-year-old became conditional jockey at Nicholls' Ditcheat base at the beginning of the 2015/16 campaign, quickly establishing himself as a real talent in the saddle after being involved at the stable since the age of 13.

His first Grade 1 triumph followed just over a year later, when he rode Irving to victory in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle in the November of 2016. He would go on to record 63 winners that campaign, which was enough to win the champion conditional crown.

By this time widely recognised as one of Britain's best young jockeys, Cobden continued his top form into 2017/18. A hard-fought victory at the expense of Fox Norton in the Tingle Creek aboard Politologue was followed by a first winner at the Cheltenham Festival, when Kilbricken Storm proved too good in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle. A winner at the Grand National Festival was added weeks later, when Diego Du Charmil scooped Grade 1 honours in the Maghull Novices' Chase.

It was after those high-profile victories that the jockey was offered the top job with both Paul Nicholls and Joe Tizzard, opting for the former trainer while continuing to ride for the latter. However, soon after Cobden would be sidelined for months of the 2018/19 campaign after breaking his C2 vertebra when parting company with Mick Thonic at Market Rasen.

As all champions do, he would bounce back with some style, winning the Ascot Chase on Cyrname before beginning his four-peat of Challow victories, firstly on Bravemansgame. The horse and jockey would go on to be a formidable partnership, winning the Kauto Star Novices' Chase and King George VI Chase in consecutive years.

Cobden increased his number of Cheltenham Festival winners to five with successes aboard Stay Away Fay, Stage Star and Monmiral before being crowned 2024 champion jockey after an injury to Sean Bowen saw the Somerset-born rider chase down his lead at the summit.

In his tenth year of riding under rules, Cobden recorded a sixth win at the Festival when steering home Caldwell Potter in the Golden Miller Novices' Chase in 2025.

He joins an elite list of active National Hunt jockeys to have partnered over 1,000 winners, which includes Brian Hughes, Sam Twiston-Davies, Harry Skelton and current champion Sean Bowen.