Well, what a shocker that was, announcing retirement on the way back to the winners' enclosure. Timeform have announced their 3 favourite rides here. No doubt you have your favourites so please add them below. What an incredible career AP has had; it's difficult to imagine him not riding horses up and down the country
Thanks Ron for starting this thread AP has had many detractors on this forum over the years, most of it pocket talk.im not one of them.A true horseman the like will ever be seen again I was lucky enough to meet the great man at a social event a couple of years ago. We talked football and posed for photos and and it sits proudly on my sideboard. The man was a true gentleman.good luck AP Happy retirement.
Hard to imagine racing without him really. His fear of his abilities degrading are a huge factor in retiring, McCoy simply doesn't want anyone to see weakness in him. He's a winner and he will retire that way although I'm convinced he will ride again down the line I wish him all the best. A true great of the sporting world.
Great thread Ron. For me, undoubtedly, it has to be his ride on WICHITA LINEMAN at the 2009 Cheltenham Festival. I was there that day when he kidded, cajoled, pushed and outright carried that horse home. In my opinion, it was an absolute stubbornness on McCoys part to accept what most others would have and pulled him up. AP just never gave up and the ride he gave WL just about summed the man up - determined, hard working, gritty, never-say-die, winner. We won't see another like him again.
I was there drever, I didn't back him but my brother did and his ride teaforthree in the RSA I think was a masterclass.
One really needs to read his autobiography to even try and understand what drives this incredible sportsman. There are too many special rides to even mention, but the 2 moments that stand out for me are 2 instances where, after a great success, he was thinking of others rather than himself. The first one was after winning the Ryanair on Albertas Run for the first time in 2010. He had suffered a heavy fall earlier on the card and could be seen visibly wincing with pain dismounting Albertas Run in the winners enclosure, yet his first thoughts in the post-race interview were towards owner Trevor Hemmings who had been in hospital with illness. The second occasion was on an emotional day at Cheltenham, after the terrible injury to J T McNamara. McCoy had won the Albert Bartlett on At Fishers Cross but his thoughts were with J T and, even more poignantly, with Campbell Gillies, who had won the race the year before on the brilliant Brindisi Breeze but was cruelly taken from us. That sums up AP more than any individual riding performance - his selflessness, his absolute dedication and, whenever you hear him talk, the absolute conviction that the man simply does not have a bad bone in his body. In an age where the word hero is greatly over used, AP must go down as one of the few modern-day examples of someone who is not only incredibly successful at what he does (through enormous dedication and self-sacrifice) but is also an absolutely first rate human being.
Sorry oddy it's was albertas run I meant, my memory these days I can't remember what happened five minutes ago
It's a sad day to be sure. I know there are a lot of Ruby fans on here and I respect the lads ability but A P McCoy is without doubt the finest we have ever seen. He is also a very humble man and the thing that I always love about him is that he never reaps the glory, its always the stable lad or the trainer or someone else that deserves the praise, never himself. I only hope that he finds something to take over from race riding as its one hell of a void that the man has to fill now.
It is testament to the man that although he has proven himself the best in his business for 20 years on the trot and beaten records that will remain far longer, this actually is still secondary to the fact that in all that time he behaved with humility and respect for all. For a man to be bigger than even those achievements is quite a feat. I will be interested in what he does next - I would not be surprised if he went into training and started by helping out at Jonjo O'Neils. Jonjo is 62 so perhaps 3 years out the limelight learning the business from a different angle will leave him ideally placed to take over should it go well. We know his relationships with JP is pretty special so this would almost seem natural. One thing is for sure he is not the type of guy to sit around doing nothing. AP leaves a space behind him which it will be difficult to fill. In the 25 years I have followed racing there are a few horses and People that you know you will never quite see their like again as they just have a certain uniqueness, Sir Henry springs to mind from the flat training ranks and now AP from the jump jockeys. Good people who were the best at what they did, and although others will come and be successful, they will never quite fill those boots left. With a tip of the old cap, thanks AP.
In the varied realms of human endeavour, including film acting, musicianship, public service and sports, the epithet “Legend” has been liberally bandied about for generations, frequently with little regard to appropriateness. In the specific case of Tony McCoy there can be little argument that the description is entirely justified. McCoy has demonstrated all the best attributes of human greatness for the entirety of his career. When he first ventured to these shores with his saddle and nothing to his name, he aspired to be successful. Through hard work and application he rose up through the ranks to the top of his profession; a position that he has maintained for twenty years whilst continually achieving greater milestones in his chosen sport. National Hunt racing certainly owes McCoy a great debt of thanks because the sport would be in a much more parlous state were it not for the contribution of this Legend from within their ranks. Doubtless the bookmakers will be celebrating when he finally hangs up his saddle as a large number of those hundred plus winners in each of the last twenty years would not have been collecting for their owners – and the punters – without his assistance. He has always come across through his interviews with the media as being a totally level-headed, committed and driven family man; the sort of role model to which people in all walks of life should aspire. We will certainly not see his like again during my lifetime and many of his records will take a very long time to eclipse. Given that knighthoods have been handed out with alacrity to lesser mortals for such achievements as riding a bike for a few miles once, I fully expect that by the end of the year we will be referring to Sir Anthony Peter McCoy.
It sums AP up to a tee when he states that as a jockey he has overachieved. He is the consummate professional and his drive and professionalism has taken him to places where others wouldn't even dream to get to. He hasn't got the massive race wins of people like Ruby Walsh but then again we all probably can remember backing a dodgy horse at a track like Towcester where we did so just because the master was on. He would then duly push and drive the horse home when everyone else would have given up. Obviously we all remember rides like Wichita Lineman, Don't Push It and Edredon Bleu, but its the rides like - http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/...-racing-novices-hurdle/video?token=55422c5abc Which really show how much of a professional he is.
Can't add much to the tributes already and agree with QM that AP should get another invite to the Palace for a gong upgrade in the not too distant future. I also remember the Wichita Lineman ride very well as I had a nice bet on Maljimar!
This ride was pure genius too, not a big race, a handicap chase at Market Rasen but no other jockey would have won this http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/...fice-friends-celebration-handicap-chase/video Pure pocket talk btw as I backed the winner
That run of Wichita Lineman in the William Hill Trophy is the stuff of legend. The horse had a day when the fences were against him, looking to hit more than he cleared. And A.P. had little choice to hop into him as the horse was off the bit a lap out. As much as McCoy deserves the accolades for the ride on that memorable day, Wichita Lineman deserves no less. The heart he showed that day was amazing. The names of McCoy and Wichita Lineman will be linked in racing lore for quite some time.
Only problem is what happened next time out. I am one that said after the fateful day, that sometimes it is AP's genius that also gets horses into trouble, and his will to win can also cause problems. Whilst I wouldn't blame him for an injuries or deaths to horses, I think we might have seen different results at times if he wasn't so professional and pulled horses up who didn't jump well. I think they overfaced WL and unfortunately that was because of the stunning ride he was given at the festival. I am also partial to believing the same for Synchronised. A legend of a jockey, but lets also look at both sides.
QM. I tried to read out your piece to my wife, but I couldn't manage it. Glasses steamed up, voice wobbled ....... gave up.
