TONY McCOY gained great satisfaction from another personal milestone as he overtook his former boss and mentor Martin Pipe with victory aboard It’s A Gimme in the Betfred Summer Plate at Market Rasen on Saturday.

The record-breaking champion can finally claim bragging rights after he surpassed his old ally’s career tally of 4,191 winners as a trainer.

McCoy had equalled the mark with the appropriatelynamed On The Record at Uttoxeter on Wednesday, and went one better as the Jonjo O’Neill-trained 2-1 market leader It’s A Gimme claimed the feature event of the day at the Lincolnshire track.

But it was not as the horse’s name might suggest, as both McCoy and his partner were forced to pull out all the stops to defeat stablemate Lost Legend.

Richie McLernon’s mount gave favourite-backers a real fright but in trademark fashion McCoy got It’s A Gimme home to triumph by a length and three-quarters. Mazuri Cowboy was third.

The horse gave everything and was treated for exhaustion.

“The horse is OK. He’s just tired. He’ll be all right,” said a mud-splattered McCoy as he returned to the weighingroom.

The Ulsterman was delighted to have won the feature and beaten Pipe in one go.

He said: “I was lucky Jonjo had a few in the race and put me on this one. This is a willing little horse who kept finding for me.

“The record was just a very personal thing between me and Mr Pipe. He set the standard and revolutionised training. He is someone I held in high esteem and we had great times together in my time as his stable jockey.

“We’ve had a bit of banter pretty much since I’ve ridden my 4,000 winner.”

Some people might call Mc- Coy jump racing’s big cheese and he was presented with one, a 20kg Lincolnshire Poacher, by the racecourse management on his achievement.

O’Neill, himself a former top jump jockey, said: “He rode a fantastic race. I thought he was beat going down to the last, but it was a typical AP ride and he got there.

“It’s great to be involved in this sport and AP is a great ambassador.

“When I was riding you would never have dreamt someone could have done what AP has done. You’d have said thinking about 4,000 winners would be lunacy.”

McCoy soon made it win number 4,193 when scoring on Parlour Games for John Ferguson in the B Eyre & Son Ltd Ford Novices’ Hurdle.

The 10-11 favourite bounced back from defeat at 1-5 on his previous start to win with consummate ease by eight lengths from Norfolk Sky.

“He was a nice horse on the Flat. He really impressed us at Huntingdon and then he went to Stratford and was hugely disappointing. Maybe the ground was too quick for him, but I’ve really no idea,”

said Ferguson.

“Anyway he’s come out today and showed us what he can do.

“He’s in at Galway. He’s only a novice, but he might take his chance. We’ll see.”

Ferguson has a second Galway Hurdle possible in Purple Bay (7-1), who routed his rivals in the Betfred Mobile Summer Hurdle.

Ridden by 7lb claimer Mikey Ennis, Purple Bay bounded to victory by ten lengths from Max Ward.