Andrews delighted as she sets season's record for point wins by a female rider

Cheltenham Festival-winning jockey Gina Andrews set a record for point-to-point wins in a season by a female rider on Sunday – topping a tally that had stood for 24 years.

Andrews, who steered Domesday Book to a 40-1 victory at Prestbury Park in 2017, secured her 41st win of 2018-19 on King Of The Clothe in a thrilling finish at Edgcote, breaking the record set by Polly Curling in 1995.

"I'm absolutely delighted, over the moon," said Andrews. "It's been a bit of an ambition of mine for a while now and I'm really pleased."

Gina Andrews and King Of The Clothe en route to a record-breaking winCredit: Carl Evans

As the sun rose on Saturday morning, Andrews needed four winners to claim her place at the top – as it set she needed just two following a double at Bitterley in Shropshire. A second place in the mixed open on Sunday left just two races left for her to complete the feat, but with the pressure on, she rode out a driving finish on An Scairp, trained by Hannah Mahon, to a record-equalling 40th win of the season.

Andrews lined up in the closing intermediate race on King Of The Clothe, trained by her husband Tom Ellis. Once again victory was far from assured, but in a tooth-and-nail battle with Wick Green and Peter Mason, Andrews and her mount found the line first to write a piece of racing history.

Asked if she now had the overall record in her sight, a tally of 68 wins set by six-time national champion Will Biddick in 2014-15, Andrews said: "I don't know about that! To be honest at the start of the season the ladies' record seemed a long way away for a really long time, and before this year my best tally had been 29.

"I'm just going to enjoy the rest of the season, make the most of it and see what it brings."

A bumper 19 meetings next weekend will offer Andrews ample opportunity to increase her record haul, with fixtures across the country on Saturday, Easter Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday.

Get exclusive insight from the track and live tipping with our up-to-the-minute service on the Racing Post mobile app - go to the Today tab in cards, click on a race and then click live, or click on the Raceday Live tab in news