My Autobiography

Product Information

In some ways I wanted to and in some ways I didn't. I would have liked not to have to announced I was retiring." Bowing out on a high

Champion AP McCoy signs off with third-place finish". Rte Sport. 25 April 2015. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019 . Retrieved 6 June 2018. Memories are very nearly too many to mention, but that record-breaking season saw him beat the tally of 269 set by Sir Gordon Richards and stands above everything else in McCoy's eyes. The Irishman won the 2013 Gold Cup with the favourite in Bobs Worth and he expects this year’s market leader, Galopin Des Champs, to be “very very hard to beat.” I don't think there's any other reason for the Irish being dominant, yes you can make lots of cases... it can be like Ferrari having a period in Formula 1 like Willie Mullins is having where some fella is dominant or Manchester City or whoever it may be. There's some team that always has a dominant edge but I think it's the competition that has made Ireland stronger."The 2010 race did not seem to hold particular promise. A few weeks beforehand, McCoy was mulling over a choice of four mounts and did not seem especially thrilled by any of them, though he was prepared to make allowances for Don’t Push It’s flop at the Cheltenham Festival. It was at about this point that David Casey, on Snowy Morning, noticed from a bookmaker’s board that Don’t Push It had halved in price from the morning 20-1 as casual punters lined up behind his famous rider. Casey pointed it out to McCoy and asked mischievously: “How are you going to explain getting beat on another Grand National favourite?” Relaxed and with no great expectations, McCoy joined in the joking. But when the tape went up a few minutes later it didn’t take long for things to become interesting.

Jonjo O’Neill, trainer of Don’t Push It, needed little prompting to reel off a list of the horse’s ailments, including “kissing spines and bad stifles”. McCoy described his mount as “mentally unstable”. They tried ear plugs as a means of keeping him calm during the buildup but he still sweated up at the start.Scott, Brough (6 December 2008), Tony McCoy powers Master Minded home in The Tingle Creek Chase, London, UK: The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 22 January 2014 , retrieved 4 November 2010 His career is one of the most impressive in recent sporting memory. However, just a single win in the main event at Aintree shows just how challenging taking victory really is, even for such a legendary figure. I will miss riding horses and races like that. I thought for a long way he could win. It was my last National but was a very enjoyable one.”

He certainly does encourage the horses to run for him. They understand him, he gets them in the right place at the right time, presents them correctly at a fence and goes at the right pace. Over the years, he won 4,358 races, with notable victories including taking the 2010 Grand National title with Don't Push It and the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup with Mr Mulligan in 1997 and Synchronised in 2012. I think to be great you have to have longevity. It's like a young lad that could turn up and be the best footballer for a year and then disappear and go off the rails. But they have the potential to really light up the Festival. There's a chance they could deliver wow performances. The Irishman had 14 unsuccessful rides in the world’s most famous steeplechase before he carried boss JP McManus’ silks to victory. It was one of the most popular winners of the 4m2½f contest in its history. Near MissesTony McCoy wins second Cheltenham Gold Cup on Synchronised". The Guardian. London, UK. 16 March 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 . Retrieved 18 December 2016. McCoy sealed his 4000th career win riding the Jonjo O'Neill trained Mountain Tunes, in the colours of owner JP McManus, to a hard-fought victory in the Weatherbys Novices' Hurdle at Towcester on 7 November 2013. [15] [16] [17] His mount, Mountain Tunes, looked to have little chance with two hurdles to jump yet McCoy managed to get up in the final strides to beat Kris Spin ridden by Jamie Moore. [18] Jump Ride of the Year: 2009 (for the winning ride on Wichita Lineman in the William Hill Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival on 10 March 2009), 2012 (for the winning ride on Synchronised in the Cheltenham Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival on 16 March 2012) I’ve won a few races nobody knows about,” he joked at the time. Anyone who followed jump racing knew exactly what he was achieving, and punters in particular loved his unquenchable thirst, believing he would never give up, even if he had 20 lengths to make from the fourth-last in a selling hurdle at Market Rasen.