Tony McCoy has long been established as one the greatest jumps jockey of all time. He has won almost every race worth winning and has broken almost every record worth breaking, having ridden over 3000 winners and been Champion National Hunt Jockey in Britain on 15 occasions.
Career Achievements:
- Champion Jockey: 1995/6, 1996/7, 1997/8, 1998/9, 1999/2000, 2000/1, 2001/2, 2002/3, 2003/4, 2004/5, 2005/6, 2006/7, 2007/8, 2008/9, 2009/10
- Best season: 289 winners in 2001/2 (a British jumps record)
- 1000th winner: Majadou, Cheltenham, December 11th 1999
- 1500th winner: Celtic Native, Exeter, December 20th 2001
- 2000th winner: Magical Bailiwick, Wincanton, January 17th 2004
- 3000th winner: Restless D’Artaix, Plumpton, February 9th 2009
- Queen Mother Champion Chase winner: Edredon Bleu 2000
- Cheltenham Champion Hurdle: Binocular 2010, Brave Inca 2006, Make A Stand 1997
- Cheltenham Gold Cup: Mr. Mulligan 1997
- King George VI Chase: Best Mate 2002
- Aintree Grand National 2010
Early Days
A native of Antrim, McCoy cut his racing teeth with his local trainer Billy Rock before moving down to Jim Bolger in Co. Carlow to refine his blossoming talent. Despite breaking his leg in an accident on the gallops, he recovered and rode his first winner on a horse of Bolger’s called Legal Steps in a Flat race at Thurles on March 26th 1992. However, his weight would always dictate that his future would lie over jumps and having soon made a big impression in that sphere in Ireland, he moved to England to avail of even better opportunities in 1994. He wasted no time making an impact, riding his first winner in England at Exeter on 7 September 1994. That season he rode a record 74 winners and was crowned Champion Conditional Rider in the 1994/5 season. The very next season he became Champion Jockey and he hasn’t stopped breaking records since.
Building A Legacy
He has been Champion Jockey every season since that initial title, a remarkable feat considering the danger of the sport and the injuries that he has suffered over the years. Some of the records he holds are:
- Fastest jockey to reach the 1000 winner mark.
- Beat Sir Gordon Richard’s record of 269 winners in a season on Valfonic at Warwick on 2 April 2002.
- Most number of winners in a season (289) in 2002.
- Surpassed Richard Dunwoody's record of all-time jumps winners.
- Surpassed Sir Gordon Richards record of all-time wins.
The Cheltenham Festival has proved to be a happy hunting ground for McCoy, as since partnering Kibreet to success in the Grand Annual Chase in 1996, he has gone on to land over 24 more successes at the Mecca of National Hunt racing, with two of his greatest triumphs coming in 1997 through a rare big-race double aboard Mr Mulligan in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Make A Stand in the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle two days earlier.
A Winning Partnership
Since 2004, McCoy has been the retained rider for the multiple-time Champion Owner, JP McManus and has ridden primarily for Jonjo O’Neill. The partnership enjoyed a memorable six weeks in 2010, with McCoy riding the Nicky Henderson-trained, JP McManus-owned Binocular to success in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, but an even more satisfying win came when McCoy finally broke one of the best-known hoodoos in racing by winning the Aintree Grand National on Don’t Push It. The fact that the winner was owned by JP McManus and trained by Jonjo O’Neill made the win all the sweeter for McCoy. That memorable win helped McCoy gain the mainstream sporting recognition that he so deserved and indeed, he became the first-ever racing personality to be crowned the BBC Sport’s Personality Of The Year in December 2010, much to the delight of the entire racing industry.
With him being just 36 years of age and showing no signs of slowing down, McCoy looks set to continue at the very top of his profession for many years to come and it would take a brave man to bet against him reaching 4000 career winners before he hangs up his boots.
Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland - Updated January 2011
