Sean Bowen

The newly married champion jump jockey tells about his drive to chase winners and targeting the “incredible” AP's records

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To be mentioned in the same breath as 20-time champion Sir Tony McCoy is a huge honour for any jockey.

But justifying every comparison bestowed upon him is the current star of the weighing room, Sean Bowen.

Not since AP's incredible record-breaking reign have we seen the kind of stats that 28-year-old Sean is racking up. Since earning his first jockeys' championship in April, he's set off in hot pursuit of the next title and has enjoyed his quickest ever start, already racking up more than 140 winners at a phenomenal 26% strike rate. To put that into perspective, he's already ridden 80 more winners than any of his weighing room colleagues.

Not only does this unassuming Welshman have the same relentless McCoy-esque work ethic, his mindset is strikingly similar, with an all-consuming drive to succeed and a hawk-like focus on the ambitious goals he sets himself.

"AP was an incredible jockey, so I'd love to match some of his records," he says.

"I've had a brilliant start to this season, which has really just rolled off the back of last season - winning my first championship was amazing. But to be champion jockey, chasing numbers is what you have to do. You have to set your own targets and hopefully they come.

"It's not just about the big Saturdays either - every day is important because the day-to-day meetings are where you rack up the winners. I know AP used to chase numbers and he got to a record 289 winners one season, which is a crazy amount really, but hopefully that's something I can achieve. I've set myself the target of 200 this season, so we'll try to keep the ball rolling and see what happens."