Tony McCoy yesterday broke his own record for the fastest century of winners in a jumps season - by an incredible seven weeks.

He achieved the feat when he steered the Martin Pipe-trained Present Bleu to an easy success in the Sussex County Cricket Club Claiming Hurdle at Plumpton.

His previous fastest ton came in the 1997-98 season when he achieved the feat on Sam Rockett at Newton Abbot on November 5th.

He missed breaking that record by one day last year, after taking a two-week break and being off for 21 days with concussion.

The champion jockey took his tally to 101 for the campaign when he landed the Cloud 9 Fitness At Plumpton Novices' Hurdle on Turkestan, trained like Present Bleu by Pipe.

After reaching his 100 McCoy said: "It was quick. Obviously, I have got to thank my agent for doing a great job and, of course, the trainer. It's good to do it.

"It's never easy. The next 100 will be harder, I think." A beaming McCoy added that he was determined now to show his pleasure at his riding achievements - by smiling.

"I have been told to smile a lot more this year so I am going to try," he said.

He described his century feat as a "great" feeling. "I am very lucky. It's a great way to earn a living. I couldn't think of a job I would want to do more than I am doing now.

"I am lucky that I ride those good horses and ride those winners.

"The main thing is to go to the races and ride horses that are faster than anybody else's." He admitted that his appetite for winners was still fierce and called himself "greedy" for future success.

"I want to be champion jockey. I have won a lot of races at the Cheltenham Festival. I would like to win them all. That's an ambition. You have got to set yourself targets. The more difficult they are, the more you try," said McCoy.