4,000 For Magic McCoy!

What an amazing day at Towcester yesterday as A P McCoy recorded his incredible 4,000th success with victory aboard Mountain Tunes.  How he managed to get this one home in front I will never know, but it illustrates perfectly why he has ridden 4,000 winners - nobody else could have won on it.  I have known A P a long time and spent a lot of time with him at Pond House - you could not hope to meet a more professional sportsman or a nicer chap...he would help anyone out and nothing was ever too much trouble.  One thing I did always struggle to get my head around though - how could he be the best jockey of all time, yet be such a lousy golfer and such a bad judge of a football team?!  I am only joking of course...in years to come people will ask how he managed to ride so many winners - it is a total that I don't think will ever be beaten.

We are delighted to have been a part of A P’s remarkable success story and we still vividly remember his first winner for the stable when successful aboard Crosula at Hereford on 1^st June 1995.  This was the first of an incredible 1,154 winners for Martin, the last of which was Paro at Taunton on 24^th April 2006.  Since taking over at the helm of Pond House David has continued to supply A P with a steady stream of winners (62 at the time of writing), meaning that between them they have supplied the champ with 1,216 winners in total (or 30.4% of his career successes!).

Incidentally McCoy’s first winner in this country was aboard Chickabiddy at Exeter on 7^th September 1994, a mare trained by local permit-holder Gordon Edwards, whose daughter, Gemma just so happens to be one of David’s secretaries!

There are so many highlights to pick from that we could go on all day, but the obvious ‘standouts’ are the eleven Cheltenham Festival winners he rode for the yard including Champion Hurdle winner Make A Stand, and the three Cheltenham ‘Open’ winners, Cyfor Malta, Lady Cricket and Shooting Light.  Other notable highlights include that memorable victory of Pridwell over triple Champion Hurdle winner Istabraq at Aintree, while Valfonic’s success at Warwick on 2^nd April 2002 marked his historic 270^thsuccess of that season, breaking the all-time record of the great Sir Gordon Richards.  A P went on to finish that campaign with a scarcely believable 289 winners.

McCoy’s steely determination, almost superhuman strength and sublime skill stand him head and shoulders above his contemporaries and he will continue to be the benchmark to which every subsequent jockey should aspire long after he decides to hang up his breeches.

In the meantime his hunger for winners appears undiminished by time and he shows no sign of slowing up.  We are truly blessed to have witnessed this very special talent who is such a good ambassador and has done so much to promote our sport…long may he continue and here’s to the next 1,000!

*****

There are four meetings to look forward to this afternoon - three over the sticks at Musselburgh, Southwell and Hexham as well as a meeting on the all-weather flat at Wolverhampton.  McCoy has one ride this afternoon at Southwell and it is in the last race - that tells you all you need to know about the man.

*****

I see that Jermaine Defoe scored his 23rd European goal for Spurs last night and beat Martin Chivers record.  Could Defoe end up at West Ham, his old club in the January Sales?!

The man who threw a plastic bottle at Joey Barton at Burnley has been charged by the FA.  Have they charged them because he missed?!

*****

Finally, another chance to find out who amateur jockey Sam Welton chose as his horse to follow for the coming winter season in his interview with broadcasting legend Mike Vince...