Leading flat racing jockey Silvestre de Sousa will on Saturday become part of just a small group of jockeys to have won the flat racing championship three times. He will join fellow riders Ryan Moore and Frankie Dettori in this illustrious club on British Champions Day.
The 37 year old Brazilian will be crowned the champion after the racing has finished at Ascot on the weekend with this being his third title in just four years which is a remarkable achievement.
However he did threaten to Boycott the ceremony after picking up a 21 day ban for an accumulation of overusage of the whip offences which he thought was unjust. This has now been all cleared up and he will be attending Ascot to pick up the trophy.
This ban however will see him miss out on all the action on British Champions Day where he will be gutted not to be involved in the five Group races on the card.
Overall he is pleased to be picking up the prize and to be apart of the three timer club, alongside these two top jockeys, with only the three of them being the only active riders to hold this accolade.
De Sousa had a less than impressive start to his championship title defence this season but should go on to win the title by a clear 30 wins to Irish jockey Oisin Murphy.
(Credit At The Races) The Brazilian jockey said:"It means the world to me to win the Stobart Flat Jockeys’ Championship for the third time.
“There are a lot of incredible jockeys in this country and some very good young jockeys coming through. All I want to do is ride more winners every year and give everything, not just for me, but for my family as well.
“I just want to make them proud of what I’m doing and achieving.“The other two championship wins were good, but this one feels even better. I have put a lot of effort in this year to win the title again, and it feels that extra bit special after having such a slow start to the season.”
He added: “To have matched Frankie and Ryan is an honour. They are two of the best jockeys in the world and both have won a huge amount of big races.
“I’m proud of what I’ve achieved in my career and it’s nice to be in that mix with Ryan and Frankie. I’m just a boy from a small town in northern Brazil, so to be in the position I am today, I am extremely proud of myself.”
De Sousa still holds one big ride left for the season and that is over in Australia in the Melbourne Cup where he saddles English raider Withold trained by Ralph Beckett, who is currently best priced at 14/1 with PADDYPOWER.