Tony McCoy
Tony McCoy
Sir Anthony Peter McCoy OBE, commonly known as A. P. McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish former horse racing jockey. Based in the UK and Ireland, McCoy rode a record 4,358 winners, and was Champion Jockey a record 20 consecutive times, every year he was a professional. He stands 1.78 m, taller than most jockeys...
NationalityIrish
ProfessionHorse Jockey
Date of Birth4 May 1974
CountryIreland
affects failure fear middle thrill
I don't know which is stronger: the thrill of winning or the fear of failure. I don't know which one affects me most. I don't know where the middle is.
believe chance convinced reached ridiculous thinking time win
I am disappointed when I don't win, because I want to believe I can win on every horse I ride, which is a ridiculous thing to think. Even if I'm on a horse that I have woken up thinking has no chance, by the time I've reached the course, I'll have convinced myself that it can win and will be disappointed if it doesn't.
alone bad best hard left nearly people quite
I am quite hard to live with, and I know that if I go through a bad run, I'm not the best company and am best left alone. But I'm not nearly as bad as people like to make out.
although best bit earlier gave good last manner novice sat season starts winning
On the last of his winning starts earlier in the season he gave me as good a feel as any novice I've sat on and although I was a bit disappointed with the manner of that fall, I know that if he comes back to his best he will go very well." ()
below chance ensure mount natural possible pounds room wasting
Many of us in the jockeys' room are wasting to ride many pounds below our natural weight, but all the while you are doing that, you also want to ensure that you are as strong as possible so that you can give your mount every possible chance in a race.
best expect perform pressure whenever work
I feel pressure every day. It is only pressure that I put on myself, but I would expect all professional sportspeople to feel pressure to perform their best whenever they are at work.
darkness enjoy jumping last worse
Darkness' jumping was probably worse when he was going right-handed at Sandown last time, he just didn't enjoy it.
chasing eight rode wrapped
For eight or 10 years, I got wrapped up in chasing records. Everything was a number. Didn't matter what I won, it was a number. Every horse I rode was a number.
clan good hopefully next race ran royal time
It was a very good race and Clan Royal ran a blinder... hopefully next time will be my moment.
anyone asked meet
When I was a kid, if someone had asked who I'd meet if it could be anyone in the world, it would've been Liam Brady.
body mind physical power risks round sports
In my opinion, the power of the mind in sport is vital. If you can overpower those physical risks mentally, you can get your body round it physically. I've made my body do things because of my mind that it shouldn't have been able to do.
colleagues consider countless learned mad people richard seen terms took understand
I have seen countless colleagues struggle to come to terms with retirement. I learned a lot from Richard Dunwoody when he was riding, and I completely understand why he took off and undertook what most people consider mad challenges.
close danger decades face family johnson lives nature next richard seeing sitting spent time virtually
By the nature of the sport and the danger we face daily, we are very close knit. Some of us have spent most of our lives together. To give you an example, having spent two decades sitting next to Richard Johnson and seeing him virtually every day, I have probably spent more time with him than I have my family, and he the same.
I probably don't look healthy, but I have never got to the stage where I thought I was going to pass out.