Tony Mc Coy

Tony Mc Coy

Anthony Peter McCoy OBE (born 4 May 1974), commonly known as A. P. McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a horse racing jockey from Northern Ireland who is based in England.

McCoy recorded his first win in 1992 at just 17 years of age. McCoy has now ridden over 3,863 winners: more than any other National Hunt jockey ever, by a considerable margin. McCoy has ridden nearly 2,000 more winners than now retired jockey Richard Dunwoody who rode 1,699 winners during his career. McCoy has been Champion Jockey every year he has been professional. Even in his first season riding in Britain, as an apprentice for now retired trainer Toby Balding, McCoy won the Conditional Jump Jockeys Title with a record 74 winners for a conditional jockey. McCoy claimed his first Champion Jockey title in 1995/6 and, as of 2012/2013, has won 17 consecutive Champion Jockey titles, beating the previous record of 7 consecutive titles by Peter Scudamore.

McCoy is considered the perennial champion jockey and is often referred to as simply 'the Champ' or his initials 'AP' by weighing room colleagues, punters, commentators and racing journalists alike.

McCoy has won almost every big race there is to win. His most high profile winners include the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, King George VI Chase and the 2010 Grand National, riding Don't Push It.

McCoy has contested over 13,000 races (equivalent to 31,000 miles or 1.25 times around the Earth). He has had a number of falls since becoming a jump jockey, one of the many occupational hazards that comes with race riding. McCoy has broken or dislocated almost every bone in his body (some of them multiple times), including a middle and lower vertebrae, both shoulder blades, ribs, an ankle, cheekbones, a wrist, a leg, collar bone, fingers and teeth.

McCoy was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2010, becoming the first jockey to win the award.