Racing salutes legend McCoy
The curtain will come down on the career of Tony McCoy at Sandown on Saturday, with the racing world quick to pay tribute to the record-breaking champion:
“It’s wonderful for a jump jockey to have ridden for as long as he has and to be able to retire on his own terms. It’s incredible. He’s been amazing. He’s an incredibly tough guy mentally and he’s very astute.”
“AP is getting out at the right time, he is on top of his game and everybody will remember him as the greatest jockey. There is a time in everybody’s life when you have got to change tune and do something else. I didn’t find it a problem (retiring) as I was sick at the time, not that I knew that. I was happy to give up. A lot of lads, though, find it a big problem. I get on great with him and we have never had any problems. I just tell him what the horses are like and he does what he likes and he is normally right. He is brilliant and we will never see the likes of him again. It is nice be involved with him and have the opportunity to do so. He just loves riding winners. He is obsessed, and you can’t be that successful without doing the homework. He knows everything that goes on and has a great agent in Dave Roberts as well. They are a great team together.”
“He’s a legend. He’s an iron man. People are saying, ’Who’ll replace him?’. It will take three men to replace him. He’s been the best example of any sportman you can possibly have. He never saw defeat and he’d travel anywhere for a ride. To me, that’s a fantastic thing to be able to do.”
“For Anthony it was good to get it (decision to retire) out there. He was a very young fellow when he came to me and I said all the rearing was done when he came to me. At no stage did he need any, or very little, tutoring. I just taught him how to count his money!”
“Tony McCoy set an example for every other jump jockey coming along. He improved the fitness levels, the dedication, the threshold for pain – everything about him. He’s just an icon. We are all privileged to have witnessed him and been in his company. I knew him since he was 13 or 14 with the late Billy Rock and he’s never changed a bit.”
“He’s been around since I started and was always champion. I’ve watched him consistently raise the bar of excellence for our profession. From his day-to-day work ethic up and down the country, his drive and determination plus the physical deprivation of keeping his weight down. To ride 200-plus winners a season was a massive achievement which sets him apart. ’Relentless’ is the word that always comes to mind. But AP has always been good to the young lads coming up, he always gives them time and never abuses his status.”
“I have been privileged to play a small part in his career and to have known him personally and much as I will miss seeing his genius in the saddle.”
“It will be quite weird not having him around. He’s been a great friend and a great colleague for a long time. He’s done his job really well and has been easy to work with. It will be sad to see him go. It’s going to be sad not to have him around. He’s a great loss to the weighing room.”
“He’s been such a good rider, so dedicated. The work and the achievement and the hard graft he’s put in all his life, it would be a shame if he went on too long and if something happened to him. I’m really thrilled for him. He’s been a fantastic ambassador for the sport. He’s such a nice guy and he’s such a brilliant rider. I know it was probably a tough decision, but I’m sure it is the right one.”
“It surprised a few of us how he did it (announced in February at Newbury he was to retire), when he was coming back in. Since then there’s been a lot of chat – it’s been a pleasure chasing him round all these years! He’s been a phenomenal sportsman and in and out of the saddle he’s been a great ambassador for the sport and a fantastic man for racing. We had no inkling he was going to do it.”
“I can’t say enough about him. Amazing jockey, terrific bloke.”
“My admiration for him is unbelievable. For him to ride for more than 20 years and just stay sound is quite remarkable and at the level he has is quite extraordinary. AP’s record speaks for itself. For him to be at the top, Flat or jump jockey, is quite extraordinary.”
“He’s just unbelievable. There were plenty of men before him, but he took jumps racing to another level. Everyone knew very early on he was something special and his dedication and appetite for it has never changed over the years. Despite all the success he stayed a nice fellow as well, which is great. When I first heard the news shock was the first feeling I had and then it was a feeling of sadness that the curtain was coming down on his career. I just wish him all the best for his life after racing.”
“There were not many people AP didn’t get on with. You really had to do something wrong. He is very easy going and approachable. If a young rider needs help he was always very free with his advice. Over the years he has learnt to relax and balance his life and learn it is not all about racing.”
“It’s extraordinary. Every now and again in a sport you get a freak, one that is fabulously good and probably never see the better again. I don’t think we’ll appreciate what we’ve witnessed for a few years. It’s not going to be done again.
“The man is phenomenal. Put it like this, if anybody had said to me when I was riding in my heyday that somebody can ride 4,000 winners in their career I would have called them an idiot. I would have said it would have been impossible to ride 3,000 winners, let alone 4,000. It is incredible what he has done . He has raised the bar for everybody coming into racing. Some records will never be broken and he has set one. I am glad I was born at a time which has allowed me to see this happen.”
“He’s had such a wonderful career and I’ve been lucky enough to call him a friend since he first arrived, I’ve admired what he’s achieved on the track hugely but he’s also a great guy. We’ll all be very sorry to see him leave but I’m sure another chapter will open up for him and he won’t be lost to racing. There is no finer ambassador than AP and hopefully we can use him in some other way.”
