Legendary rider Yutaka Take partners 4,500th JRA winner - and has designs on even greater milestone

Legendary jockey Yutaka Take, 55, rode his 4,500th Japan Racing Association winner on Sunday – and is not ruling out making it to 5,000.

He brought up winner number 4,500 on Wet Season in the second race at Tokyo, a three-year-old mile maiden on the dirt. He had gone on to 4,449 at Kyoto on Saturday.

Japanese Godolphin's Wet Season, US-bred being by Mendelssohn out of the Pioneerof The Nile mare Season Maker was winning for the second time from three starts for trainer Hiroyasu Tanaka.

Take, who was born on March 15, 1969, debuted as a rider in March 1987 and rode his first winner, Dyna Bishop, that month. He rode his 1,000th winner on July 23, 1995, his 2,000th on September 21, 2002, his 3,000th on November 3, 2007, and his 4,000th on September 29 2018.

He said: "Accumulating one by one. I'm glad I've been a jockey for so long. The result of giving my all for the one victory in front of me. My future goal is to win the next one. Six Japanese Derby wins? Still not enough.”

Asked about a JRA total of 5,000 wins, he replied: "Well, I think it's difficult, but I'd like to give it a try. I don't think it's impossible.''

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