Notable milestone but big winners are what make Moore merrier

To Ryan Moore, the significance of riding his 2,000^th winner is nothing more than another statistical milestone that comes with the territory.

Unlike Frankie Dettori, who is acutely aware of his standing in relation to previous champions, Moore is not driven by numbers. He will draw greater satisfaction from the fact he can sit anonymously with his family in a Cambridge cinema, which cannot be said of Dettori.

As things stand, Moore is more than 1,000 career winners adrift of Dettori. He is unlikely to overhaul him by the time he hangs up his saddle, yet that will matter not a jot. Moore is in it for the big days. Reaching 2,000 winners is merely a byproduct of riding for the totem stables of Aidan O’Brien and Sir Michael Stoute.

That in itself is a more accurate reflection of Moore’s status. Ordinarily, his shift in emphasis from Stoute to O’Brien would have prompted Stoute to forge a new alliance with another jockey. That Stoute still summons Moore when circumstances allow is reminiscent of the sentiment once expressed by Vincent O’Brien about Lester Piggott. The best thing about having Piggott riding for you, O’Brien observed, was that he wasn’t riding against you.

Moore, of course, could have ridden 2,000 winners much sooner had he been prepared to chase them with Sir Anthony McCoy’s zeal. So the landmark promotes a dichotomy within his career. Far from being reticent about putting in the hard yards, Moore has made great personal sacrifices, basing himself in Japan during November and December in recent years.

In that time he does not see his wife and four young children, who are precious to him. In 2013 he rode Real Impact to win the Grade 2 Hanshin Cup on December 23, which meant that he arrived home to celebrate Christmas only on the day itself.

It is not the number of winners that will define his excellence on retirement but the number of big-race wins, gained right across the globe. No other jockey has won the Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate, the Japan Cup and Tenno Sho, in addition to eight Breeders’ Cup races. And his alliance with Ballydoyle means he could yet achieve his most treasured professional ambition: to win the Kentucky Derby.

Moore invariably has his supporters among the betting public, as was demonstrated in April, when his failure in a photo-finish to land the Lincoln prevented a four-timer that would have cost bookmakers anything up to £40 million. But Dettori probably has the more devout following.

Part of that is down to Moore’s approach to big-race riding when his horse is drawn wide. His favoured tactic is to save ground by dropping right out before waiting patiently for a late split.

From a punter’s perspective it may seem as though he trusts too much to luck, but Moore and O’Brien’s philosophy is that there is always another day. Only a jockey of his calibre can afford to think that way.