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
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.
god laziness ride serious
When you give someone a commitment to ride their horse, you do it - unless, God forbid, something serious has happened. It would be laziness not to do it.
bath draining exhausting experience few injury lengthy periods pounds shed sides spending tough
There are many tough sides to being a jockey. Injury is something we all dread, but spending lengthy periods in the bath or the sauna just to shed a few pounds can be an exhausting and draining experience.
advice deal diet found given good largely people time trial
I have found the right way to deal with my diet, largely through trial and error, but also by having good people around me all the time, and they have given me the right advice for my body.
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.
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." ()
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.
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.
broke came
When I was 18, I broke my leg, and my shin came right through - like I had two knees.
chance
I was told that there's near on a million to one chance that I would be able to have children.
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.
lads rarely
Really racing is about the horses, not me. You can't do it without the horses, and they are the big players as are the lads who look after them, and they rarely get a mention.
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.