Tony McCoy

Nickname: AP (his initials)
Born: May 4, 1974
Nationality: Northern Irish
Height: 5ft 10ins
Has been a regular jockey for former gold cup winning jockey now trainer Jonjo O’Neill, and is retained by JP McManus, Tony is also second Jockey for Nicky Henderson and will be riding Hendersons Binocular in The Champion Hurdle

Racing Background

* Tony is the thirteen-times champion jockey, having retained the title year-on-year since 1995, and undoubtedly the greatest jump jockey of all time
* He has broken almost every Jump jockey record and then continued to break those very records he himself has set, including achieving the fastest 50, 100 and 200 winners in a season.
* In January 2004, he rode his 2000th winner when riding Magical Bailiwick to victory at Wincanton. This is the most winners ever to be ridden by a Jump jockey, exceeding the record previously set by Richard Dunwoody by over 300 winners. (To hear Tony’s interview after his 2000th winner please use the link above.)
* He then went on to break 2,500 winners in October 2006
* In the 2001/02 season he rode a record 289 winners
* He has won nearly all the major British jump races, including the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup on Mr Mulligan and the Smurfit Champion Hurdle on Make A Stand, both at the 1997 Cheltenham Festival. Only one race still eludes him – the John Smith’s Grand National at Aintree.
* Tony has ridden many of Britain’s top Jump horses. Amongst them are Gloria Victis, Viking Flagship, Best Mate, Lady Cricket, Black Jack Ketchum, Wichita Lineman, Edredon Bleu, Master Minded, Brave Inca and Exotic Dancer.
* He has had many favourites over the years, including Blowing Wind, on whom he has twice finished an agonising third in the Martell Grand National. Gloria Victis was a seriously talented horse, having won the Pertemps Feltham Novices’ Chase, at Kempton Park, when only a five year old. Cyfor Malta is also a horse that Tony will always be fond of, for he has been such a tough and consistent campaigner.
* The two men Tony respects most in the racing industry are nine-times Derby-winning jockey, Lester Piggott and former champion Jump jockey, John Francome.
* In 2009 Tony remains stable jockey to Jonjo O Neill. He is also retained by JP McManus and rides regularly for Nicky Henderson.

Other Hobbies and Interests

* Tony enjoys playing both football and golf. For the past few years he has hosted an annual charity golf day, inviting jockeys and other sporting heroes to contribute to his fundraising.
* Tony is also a serious Arsenal FC fan, visiting Highbury whenever possible.
* If he could be anyone else in sport, Tony would choose to be Tiger Woods.
* Tony’s star-sign is Taurus.

Anthony Peter McCoy, MBE (born 4 May 1974, Moneyglass, County Antrim, Northern Ireland), more commonly known as A.P. McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a horse racing jockey

who is widely regarded as the finest jump jockey of all time.

McCoy rode his first winner, “Legal Steps”, at Thurles on 26 March 1992. Success in Ireland soon led to a move across the Irish Sea, and he began riding in England in 1994.

McCoy rode his 3000th winner at Plumpton on the Nicky Henderson trained ‘Restless D’Artaix’ in the Tyser & Co Beginners’ Chase on 9th February 2009. ‘Restless D’Artaix’ was sent off a 13-8 Favourite for the race.

McCoy has broken numerous records since he was granted a British licence, his first win in England coming at Exeter on 7 September 1994. He was soon off to a flying start by claiming a record 74 winners, and thus the conditional jockey championship, in the 1994-1995 season. The following season he was champion jockey, a feat that he has repeated in each of the twelve following seasons. During that run he has also set a new National Hunt record for winners in a season (253) and also become the fastest jockey to reach the 1000 winner mark. McCoy then beat Sir Gordon Richards record for winners in a season for all types of racing in 2002, (although by using modern technology McCoy was able to attend far more races than Richards). McCoy beat Sir Gordon’s record of 269 winners in a season on Valfonic at Warwick on 2 April 2002, and he went on to end the campaign on 289.

McCoy soon achieved a new high of 289 winners, and on 27 August 2002, at Uttoxeter, his victory on Mighty Mantefalco meant he had surpassed Richard Dunwoody’s record of all time jumps winners and was now the leading jumps rider of all time. McCoy has ridden 3,000 winners during his career (as of February 2009). Celebrities in Great Britain have been known to praise McCoy’s talents over the years, with footballer Steve McManaman describing him to BBC radio once as an ‘absolute legend’.

Winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and King George VI Chase McCoy has few targets left to chase, to ride 300 winners in a season and to win the Grand National. The nearest McCoy came in the National were three third-place finishes, in 2001 and 2002 aboard Martin Pipe’s Blowing Wind (as the 8-1 favourite in 2002), and in 2006 on Jonjo O’Neill’s 5-1 joint favourite, Clan Royal. His latest Grand National attempt in the 2008 race ended in disappointment when he was a faller at Becher’s Brook, the 22nd fence, on 16-1 shot Butler’s Cabin.

He is retained by the Irish millionaire and avid horse-owner, J. P. McManus, and normally rides for the ex-jockey Jonjo O’Neill’s stable. McCoy can often be noticed riding a McManus horse by the owner’s distinctive green and gold hooped jersey, often with a white cap.

McCoy is remarkable in the racing world for being both exceptionally tall and heavy. He stands 7?2½”, and has a minimum weight of around 17st 8lb, yet lets neither factor affect his ability. For a short period in his career he was in trouble with racing stewards over the way he used his whip on certain rides. One of these occasions was when he won on Eudipe in the 1999 Mildmay Cazalet Chase.

On March 14th 2008, in the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, McCoy was close to giving one of the best winning rides the festival has ever seen. The mare Refinement never travelled during the race, but the skill and persistence of McCoy got Refinement to stay on up Cheltenham’s famous uphill run-in, only to take the lead then get headed again by the rallying Whiteoak, ridden by Jason Maguire in the final strides. It will still go down as one of the best rides in defeat seen at the National Hunt Festival at Prestbury Park, Cheltenham.

With McCoy passing 3,000 winners, his supporters will be hoping for even more success at the Cheltenham Festival. Bookmakers Blue Square are ‘Taking on Tony’ and go best price about all horses this year!

He wrote an autobiography, McCoy in 2003, to follow up his first book Real McCoy: My Life So Far, released in 1999.

McCoy is married to Chanelle and they have a child together in Lambourn, Berkshire.

McCoy is a big Arsenal F.C. supporter.