Jockey Pradeep Chouhan reached a personal milestone in his blossoming career when he booted home Guts And Glory to achieve the landmark of 1000 winners during trucated day`s of racing at Bangalore on Friday. Chouhan can easily lay claim to the title of being the champion jockey of the country for the sheer volume of winners that he gets each year at all centers and it was no surprise that for the last two years the title is being conferred by the Turf Authorities of India at its annual awards night during the Invitation Cup weekend races.

Chouhan began his career at Mumbai and for quite a number of years, there was no inkling of what he was going to achieve in the second part of his career. He used to get winners but he was never considered as one who would emerge as a top jockey in the country. During this phase, the bright spark was the victory of Arti Doctor trained Wild Eagle in a graded race. Given the lack of support from good stables, it looked like Chouhan would fade out as one of the jockeys who was good but did not reach the elite league. As destiny would have it, Chouhan found support coming in southern centers and he shifted his base to Bangalore seven years ago. He did not make the impact straightaway but after he made Hyderabad as his additional base and rode for trainer Vittal Deshmukh, things took a dramatic turn. He became the champion of both monsoon and winter seasons with records to boot and also followed it up with the champion jockey title in Bangalore last winter as well. The last three years have gone like a dream for him as he is consistently winning about 150 horses each year besides winning classics as well. It is a coincidence that Chouhan recorded the win of his career on August 16 and the 1000th also came on the same day.

The last year has been an extraordinary year for Chouhan who won most of the coveted events of the country. Toroloco gave him his first Derby success last January and since then classics have coming chasing him. He won the Bangalore 1000 Guineas on Vijays Pride and then had a classic double at Hyderabad during the monsoon season by winning both the Fillies and Colts Championship. His dream run continued when he steered Vijays Pride and Machiavellianism to wins in the Indian 1000 and Indian 2000 Guineas to achieve a Guineas double. He then drove out Tintinnabulation to win the Golconda Derby and followed it up with the biggest race of his career, the Indian Turf Invitation Cup at Kolkata. Surely all these wins heralded Chouhan as a jockey whose hunger for success for not restricted to winning ordinary races but had stretched to to big races. Chouhan had indeed become a true all rounder of the sport.

``I owe my entry to this sport to my uncle Bajrang who groomed me in my formative years. All the owners and trainers whom I rode for have been supportive. My association with trainer Vittal Deshmukh and the Hyderabad owners and the success we have achieved together is phenomenal``, he said.

The 35-year Chouhan believes that the next five years are going to be very productive. ``I wish to ride for another 10 years,`` he said when asked how long he expects to stay in the saddle. ``Given the opportunities that I am getting, I should swell my classic tally of 17 significantly.``
Chouhan is also the President of the Jockeys Association of India.