'I'm very fortunate' - joy for Tom Marquand as he rides 1,000th British winner at Windsor

Tom Marquand brought up another milestone on Monday as he rode his 1,000th winner in Britain on Five Towns at Windsor.

Marquand helped the three-year-old record a first turf success in the mile fillies' handicap for his boss William Haggas to reach the landmark total.

The Classic-winning jockey has enjoyed a superb 2023, riding The King and Queen's first Royal Ascot winner in the King George V Stakes on Desert Hero, as well as earning plaudits for a brilliant front-running ride aboard Quickthorn in the Goodwood Cup to secure his 11th Group 1 success.

Marquand enjoyed more success at York's Ebor meeting, riding three winners for Haggas, most notably in the Group 2 juvenile contests on Relief Rally and Lake Forest in the Lowther and Gimcrack respectively.

On his latest achievement Marquand told Sky Sports Racing: "It takes a lot of horses and a lot of people to ride 1,000 winners so I'm very fortunate to have had that support."

Marquand's first winner came on the Richard Hannon-trained Mecado in a Kempton seller in December 2014.

"I'd have been guilty of probably being naive enough to think that that was the start of what I hoped would be to come. I suppose at the time I never really doubted it but racing sadly isn't that kind and there have been a few bumps in the road."

"My first winner was for Richard Hannon and that was my placement for the first couple of years of my career and now with William and Maureen it's been fantastic."

The King and Tom Marquand after the King George V StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

On the flourishing relationship with Haggas, Marquand added: "It was quite a slow phase in. I lost my claim and I was very fortunate I never went through a barren spell but there were quieter periods and that's when William started using me."

Marquand enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Haggas’s Addeybb, who provided the 25-year-old with his first top-level success in the 2020 Ranvet Stakes. 

Addeybb landed the Champion Stakes in the same year and took back-to-back runnings of Randwick’s Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes under Marquand.

“I was fairly fortunate the job materialised and then Addeybb jumped on the scene just before Covid. It doesn’t feel like too long ago but it was nearly four years. That was my lucky break.”

Marquand also has two Irish winners to his name. His two successes in Ireland came last year, courtesy of a top-level victory on Alenquer in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh and an 18-1 Leopardstown handicap success on I'm A Gambler.

Marquand rode a first Group 1 winner in France a few weeks after that Leopardstown winner aboard the Haggas-trained Sea La Rosa in the Prix de Royallieu at Longchamp's Arc meeting and claimed his maiden Classic success in the 2020 St Leger on Galileo Chrome for Joseph O'Brien.

Desert Hero is 11-2 for the Doncaster Classic on September 16 and could continue an excellent year for Marquand if supplying him with his second St Leger win.

Read these next:

Tom Marquand: 'If you don't want to be champion jockey you shouldn't be a jockey at all - it's as simple as that' 

William Haggas reveals royal St Leger fancy Desert Hero will have unexpected Melbourne Cup entry 

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