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
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.
broke flat gordon jockey jumps record richards season sir successful
Sir Gordon Richards was the most successful jockey - flat or jumps - there's ever been: champion jockey for 26 years. He set a record of 269 winners in the season 55 years before I broke it. That was my greatest achievement.
champion chance dream jockey richard ride riding winners
When I started off riding, you dream about being champion jockey. Then I wanted to be champion jockey again. Then I wanted to ride 200 winners in a season. Then, when there was a chance of riding more winners than Richard Dunwoody, that was my goal.
work
I like challenging myself. I'm not a person who likes not to work.
life love lucky position privileged work
I'm very lucky to live my life through a sport that I love. I'm in a very privileged position that my work is my hobby.
love lucky money work
I'm very lucky that I love what I do. I've never thought of it as work. I've never done it for the money.
officially written
I never had a written contract, was never officially a stable jockey.
gets known race ride since time win
I've known he would win this race since Christmas. He just gets better every time I ride him." ()
few hours lose pounds spend starve themselves uncommon weight
It will not surprise you to learn that it is not uncommon for jockeys who struggle with their weight to starve themselves and spend hours in the sauna to lose a few pounds to be able to make a big-race ride.
die doctors err push side
Doctors are fantastic, but they err on the side of caution. But you can push yourself. You're not going to die from pain.
good ridden
I've ridden 3,651 winners, if that's any good to you. I don't count the falls. I count the winners.
days eight however jockey minutes national race run takes winners
The National is about however long it takes to run that race - eight minutes of fame - but champion jockey is about racing 365 days a year. I actually wouldn't swap any of my winners for the National.
matter riding
No matter how long I go without riding winners, I know in the back of my head that I can ride.