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
doubt drive fear living
You need fear and doubt to drive you on. Without it, you end up living in the past and being happy with what you have achieved.
champion dreamed fear life people sports win
Essentially, I am a dreamer. I've dreamed all my life. When I started, I dreamed I'd be Champion because it is a sport that is all about the people who win the most, and I have a fear of not winning.
believe dream dreams mean nobody private success telling
Private dreams are the most powerful. You have to dream of success to make it happen, and if you don't believe in yourself, nobody else will. But that doesn't mean you have to go around telling everyone about it.
behind driving einstein saddest sports toughest
You don't have to be Einstein to see that horse racing is dangerous. Those two ambulances driving behind you aren't there for the scenery. I will never get over the fatalities of colleagues. It is the saddest and toughest part of this sport.
knows nobody places
I've always got a sweet tooth. I have chocolate hidden in places that nobody knows about.
backside
There is no place for arrogance or complacency in racing because you are up there one minute and on your backside the next.
biggest bit charlie definitely failure good grand john national peter public race won
From a public perspective, the Grand National is the biggest race of all, and not to have won it yet is definitely a failure. But there's been a lot of jockeys every bit as good and better than me that haven't won it - John Francome, Peter Scudamore, Jonjo O'Neill, Charlie Swan, to name a few.
friendly horses others people
Horses are like people - they have different personalities. They can be nice, friendly and hard-working, or awkward, difficult and lazy. If horses were people, some would be on the dole, and others would be entrepreneurs.
During every race, an ambulance trails the riders around the course. You know that sometimes you are going to end up in the back of that ambulance.
naturally sports
I think I'm skilful enough, but I don't consider myself a naturally talented, gifted sports person.
horses marked whip
I think I've always used the whip in the correct way. I see marked horses every day, and it's not a pretty sight, but I've never marked a horse. Never.
bar bath chocolate diet home hot hour lie might slice station stop
Most days, I have a slice of toast, then lie in a hot bath for an hour to get up a sweat. I have a sauna at the racecourse and then go and ride. On the way home, I might stop at a service station and have a bar of chocolate and a Diet Coke. And that's it, basically.
accept arsenal believe enjoy given golf good hit honestly horse matter overall playing suppose watching
I suppose I'm happy when I know I've given a horse a good ride, no matter where it is. I like playing golf in the summer; I'm happy when I hit a good shot, and I enjoy watching Arsenal playing beautiful football, but overall I can't believe you can be happy when you're not winning. I honestly can't accept that.
You always get a buzz from winning. Winning is... everything.