Michael Coleman's sense of timing was impeccable on Wednesday when the popular Matamata jockey reached a memorable racing milestone on his home turf.
The 47-year-old rode his 2000th New Zealand winner when he guided the Shaun and Emma Clotworthy-trained August Edition to victory in the New Zealand Bloodstock Insurance Pearl Series Race.
"It was nice to get it out of the way early in the day," Coleman said.
"To join such an elite group of jockeys is a real honour and I want to really thank all the trainers and owners who have stuck by me for such a long period of time."
Noel Harris, Chris Johnson, Lance O'Sullivan, David Peake, Bill Skelton and David Walsh are the other riders to have reached the mark.
"If you asked me five years ago whether I would get to 2000 wins I probably would have said you were crazy," Coleman said.
"It wasn't something I had really thought about as I've always said that the day I didn't have the hunger or passion for riding it would be the day I gave it away.
"It's really only in the last couple of years that I decided to try and give it a shot as I've found I'm still keen about my riding."
When quizzed on a career highlight, Coleman singled out his Gr.1 New Zealand Derby victory aboard the top-class Xcellent in 2004 as his highlight.
"There was just something special about the win and the horse himself," he said.
"He was only having his third race day start and was still very green, but you could just feel the power about him that day."
Coleman also enjoyed Group One wins aboard Xcellent in the Darley Stakes, Mudgway Stakes and the Kelt Capital Stakes as well as a third placing in the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup.
