Aidan Coleman Rides a Winner at Every British Jumps Course

We often see strange records and milestones set in British horse racing. Another big one was landed by a jockey on Wednesday afternoon. Aidan Coleman began riding 13 years ago, and he has now completed the unique milestone of riding a winner at every single British jumps racecourse.

The final course to tick off for Coleman was Kelso up in the very north of England, where he landed a winner on Wednesday to complete the feat. Coleman had ticked off the other racecourses a long time ago but had Kelso left on his list. With few opportunities to go up and ride there, being so far away from where many of his supporters train their horses, this was a rare opportunity.

Few jockeys get to experience riding in both the north and south for long enough to complete this fete but Aidan Coleman is one of the lucky few after having a number of different yards support him with rides over the years.

Theflyingportrait, trained by Jenny Candlish, was the horse to give Coleman the win, in the 2m1f handicap chase on the card.

Only taken me 13 years but finally rode a winner at every national hunt course in Britain 👌 https://t.co/GXSol7xWaF

— Aidan Coleman (@AidanColeman) September 18, 2019

Although a jockey for 13 years, Coleman has struggled to maintain continued success but has had gained momentum in the past 12 months. He began his rise in stature when he finally landed his first Grade One success. That was aboard Paisley Park, who then went to win at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

That topped off what was a very good jumps season for Aidan. He then went on to continue riding through the summer, much more than he usually would. His hard work paid off in June when he rode the 1000th winner of his career, a fantastic achievement for a jockey who has never been associated properly with a top stable as their number one.

Following that, the success at Kelso meant a winner at every British racecourse, something else under his belt that he can take into the new jumps season, which properly gets underway in October.

The leading light for Coleman this coming season will once again be Paisley Park. He will look to dominate the staying division once more and retain his crown at the Cheltenham Festival in the Stayers Hurdle. It only takes one good horse like that to put jockeys in the spotlight, and if Coleman continues the partnership with the horse then more rides are set to go his way.

Aidan has ridden 29 winners so far in the summer season and looks in good shape to continue his recent success when the winter jumps campaign begins. Finding winners for jockeys like him is a lot tougher during the winter months when the big guns all return to action. Although there are more opportunities to ride horses, and of course, there is the chance to create a partnership with Paisley Park again, something that anyone would be looking forward to.

There will also be further opportunities in the Grand National 2020 meeting at Aintree. While Coleman has never won it, he first rode in the event in 2008 at the age of 19, making him one of the youngest riders ever to start the race. That was also his most successful ride in the race, finishing in 10th place.

Since then he has only completed the event on a couple of occasions, the best of which was in 2016. Riding out on Pendra, he completed the Grand National in 13th place. Will the Grand National 2020 be better for him? Watch this space.