Veteran jockey Linda Meech has sensationally broken her own shared record for the most wins by a female rider in an Australian season, taking out a comfortable win at Wodonga.
She notched up her 112th win of the season with a ride on top of the Mike Price-trained Hulme in the Two-Year-Old Maiden Plate.
She surpasses the previous mark of 111 actually set by herself during the 2008-09 season that she shared equally with Clare Lindop.
Meech has racked up a century of wins five times in the past eight seasons, solidifying herself as not just one of the all-time great female jockeys, but one of the best Australian riders in the modern era.
She finished beautifully on top of New Zealand colt Hulme at Wodonga on Saturday, timing her jump perfectly on the final stretch after sitting comfortably a length and a half back for the bulk of the race.
Once she shot off inside the final 200 metres, it was a clear gallop to the post on the outside, taking it by three lengths in the end to snag the record.
Despite being a renowned country rider, Meech says she had hoped to make more of a mark in the metropolitan arena this season, even hoping to have cracked the record elsewhere.
“I’d rather it would have been at Moonee Valley breaking the record but I’m happy to have done it,” Meech said of her achievement.
“I’d like to be in town (metro) more but I’m happy with the way I’m going and I need to pay the bills which I do this way.”
She has wins in 30 different race tracks in this season alone and will be looking to add to the record-breaking tally in the final stages of the season.
The record isn’t quite safe this season though, with a string of female jockeys all having stellar outings in the saddle this year.
Meech is under pressure from both Jamie Kah and Rachael Murray in particular who have also crossed three figures for wins this season on 108 and 102 respectively.
Hulme is co-owned by Peter Moody who she has found plenty of success with, including her first Group 1 victory in 2015 where she rode Plucky Belle to the Coolmore Stud Stakes.
She now has over 1360 wins in the saddle across one of the most consistent careers in the nation as she continues to grow her reputation as a country riding champion who can hang with the best in the metro scene as well.
Meech already has her eyes on the future, having acquired her jockeys-trainer license and some land at Stawell inside the last 12 months with a few yearlings already under her wing.
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