Jump Jockey Legends: AP McCoy's Journey to 20 Champion Titles and 4,358 Victories AP McCoy has more race wins than any jumps jockey that went before him and was crowned champion jockey in every one of his 20 years as a professional rider. About Sir Anthony Peter McCoy was born in Moneyglass in Co Antrim and though the family had little connection to racing, he soon found himself as an apprentice rider at Jim Bolger's yard in his teens and would partner Legal Steps to victory for the yard at Thurles in 1992, his first winner. As his height increased, McCoy's focus turned to jumps racing and he relocated to Britain, winning the conditional jump jockeys title in 1995 when tied to Toby Balding. He was crowned Champion Jockey for the first time at the end of the 1995/96 season and would never relinquish that mantle over the next two decades until he retired as a 20-time champion in 2015. He formed an early alliance with trainer Martin Pipe and they were amongst the most respected partnerships in Britain, while later he became retained rider to top owner JP McManus in his iconic green and gold hoops. McCoy rode 31 Cheltenham Festival winners, including three Champion Hurdles, two Gold Cups and a Queen Mother Champion Chase. His first winner at the Cotswolds showpiece was Kibreet (1996) in the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase and his last was Uxizandre (2015) in the Ryanair Chase. Famously, McCoy won the Aintree Grand National at the 15th attempt on Don't Push It in 2010 after some major heartbreaks in pursuit of the most famous race in the sport. McCoy rode a record 4,358 winners in his career. He won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2010, the only jockey to achieve it, and was knighted in 2016 for his services to racing. He is married to Chanelle, with two children — Archie and Eve, and is an avid Arsenal fan. His final season as a jockey in 2014/15 was the subject of a fascinating fly on the wall documentary entitled Being AP. No rider has ever demonstrated such an unwavering will to win over a prolonged period. Since retiring from riding, McCoy has retained a link to McManus' racing operation and is a successful pundit on ITV Racing during the jumps season. Don't Push It ends Aintree hoodoo McCoy's quest to win the Grand National at Aintree was enduring and often framed the race the longer it went on. He finished third three times in the early 2000s and was famously going great guns on Clan Royal in 2005 when they were hampered and taken out of the race by a loose horse at Becher's Brook on the second circuit. By 2010, many doubted if he'd ever win the Merseyside marathon, but Don't Push It finally ended the hoodoo in the colours of JP McManus for McCoy's great ally, trainer Jonjo O'Neill. It was a hugely popular win, not least as Don't Push It was heavily supported into 10/1 on the day. Wichita Lineman the one they remember McCoy was the punters pal in his career, given his insatiable quest for winners, no matter where or when they arrived and at what level they came. He was often praised for winning rides on horses' that seemed assured of defeat, imposing his will from the saddle where others would have come up short. Nowhere was that more in evidence than when Wichita Lineman won the William Hill Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival in 2009 as the horse was seemingly going with little enthusiasm for large parts of the race and needed all of McCoy's cajoling to rattle home fastest and get the verdict. Mountain Tunes brings up 4,000 On November 7th, 2013 the most successful jockey of them all landed the 4,000th win of his career as Mountain Tunes landed a low-grade affair at Towcester on a mundane midweek card. It was typical McCoy stuff as he rousted the favourite after an untidy jump at the second last before surging home to win as commentator John Hunt remarked: "What a hero, what a sportsman, what a jockey." In February 2015, McCoy recovered from losing 10-lengths at the start on Mr Mole to win the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury and record his 200th winner of a single season for the tenth time. Quizzed about the landmark achievement afterwards, he stunned the racing world by announcing it would be the 'last time I ride 200 winners' as he planned to retire at the end of that season.
