Being AP

It's like being an addict,

I'm an addict to my way of life

because it's like a drug.

I'm an addict to riding horses, I'm an addict to winning...

But it wears off and then you have to go chasing it again.

It's all about winning, that's what you're really addicted to.

That's why you go chasing that... That kick that sort of makes it different.

I don't know where the excitement comes from,

just the riding and jumping the fences and...

With lots of other horses around you.

You know that there's not much room, you don't get to see much,

there's horses falling around you.

I suppose near the end, I suppose the adrenaline is in winning,

you know, I mean, that's all it's about, it's all about winning.

I think you have to have goals in life, you know,

you have to have something to chase,

you have to chase the thing that you can't ever catch.

I don't think I was ever really content with my life,

because no matter how you have a go at it, no matter how much you try, you can't...

You can't be as good as you want to be.

Previous injuries?

Erm, cheekbone.

Okay, left or right?

Left, yeah, because I never really got the feeling back.

Left collarbone, twice I think.

Shoulder blade... Can't remember which one.

- Sternum. - Yeah.

The ribs are... They've all had a go I think.

My back is fused from T...

9 to 12.

Done broke my right arm, um,

radius and ulna.

- Both at the same time? - Both at the same time.

- Okay. - My right wrist as well.

My left tib and fib.

I think I always get kicked there a few times,

- that's all that is. - Oh, dear.

And my right ankle, I think.

Never had a concussion?

- I've had lots of bangs on the head, - Yeah.

But I've always been able to function and know where I am.

Yeah, okay.

Hands on the side of your thighs.

As my career developed and I was lucky enough to become successful, I...

It... It became a bit of a numbers thing, you know?

When I started off, I wanted to be champion jockey,

and when I was champion jockey then I, you know, wanted to ride more winners

then any jump jockey had ridden before.

In 2002, I was able to do that, I rode, 289 winners in that season.

Then you want to, you want to win more jockey's championships

then any other jump jockey has before,

and you want to ride more winners than any other jump jockey has before, and...

Um, when I rode 3,000 winners, I actually thought,

I will be able to ride 4,000 winners,

I had it in my head, I thought this is achievable, you know?

But as I say, to be champion jockey 18 times,

to ride 4,000 winners is incomparable.

Crispin is out in front here, Crispin from Panama Petrus.

Mountain Tunes still staying on, surely he can't, can he? The final hurdle...

And there jumps Crispin

and Mountain Tunes and Tony McCoy

now launching a tremendous attack on the outside. He's done it!

What a hero! What a sportsman! What a jockey!

4,000 up for Tony McCoy on Mountain Tunes,

who played Crispin late and Panama Petrus back in third place.

The thing about records is they always get broken, you know,

they always get broken.

So I want to make it as tough as possible for whoever is breaking them, you know?

Because in, you know, in 20 years' time

if someone is champion jockey for the twentieth time, I'll be 60,

or when I'm dead and buried, at least it won't annoy me.

Okay, we're going this way.

Evie, sweet... Sweet pea, can you stay with me? Thank you.

Put your thing on.

Right, please... Please stay with me. Right beside me.

Our award for this season's champion jockey.

He's been the champion every year since he started riding taking a conditional title

and 18 consecutive champion jockey titles.

He's won Gold Cups, Champion Hurdles,

Queen Mother Champion Chases, and a Grand National.

Ladies and gentlemen, a huge round of applause

for our champion jockey Tony McCoy!

I would love him to retire at the end of this year.

Because the races are run at a faster pace,

so when the jockey does have a fall, they hit the ground faster,

and there has been a lot of bad injuries over the last, probably, two and three years.

Is Daddy going to win this?

Well, that's the plan, Eve, right?

The fact that we have two kids now,

and I think the sport has been incredibly good to him,

erm, and he is 40.

You know, I know it's very young in some ways, but in his career it's old.

Hold on, here's another one.

One more jump. One more jump.

He just needs to get over this.

Please, please, please don't fall.

Come on! Come on, hurry!

Come on!

Come on Anthony! Come on, hurry!

Come on Anthony!

And on the day he's crowned 19 times

champion jockey Tony McCoy gets home in the first.

Whoo!

So, yes, I would like him to retire this year,

mainly because of safety reasons, and to get him in one piece,

I don't want to have a husband that you have to help out of bed every morning,

and, you know, ideally, that would be... Erm, yeah.

Can you sum up what 19, what number 19 means to you?

You got to enjoy the moment, um, hopefully,

I can win another jockey's title, maybe win a few more.

Erm, I know a lot of people have asked me about riding 5,000 winners,

and my wife would kill me for saying that,

but, you know, you got to give yourself targets and goals.

You know I've been lucky...

I've been lucky to work with great people that helped me win a lot, but...

And I have a great agent in Dave Roberts,

who books all my rides, you know, so, um, you have to continue winning.

The season finishes on the Saturday,

it starts again, I think, now on the Tuesday,

you're back to zero and you've got to be riding winners quickly

if you want to be champion jockey.

Hi, Dave Roberts speaking.

Hi, Dave, I'll pass you over to Alan.

I'm just checking with Chepstow tomorrow...

No, I don't run. I've just spoken to Frank,

and we're not going to run him on heavy ground.

Okay, so AP won't be riding him tomorrow like that.

His kind of approach is numerical, if any horse can win any race, he will ride it,

good jumper or bad jumper.

- Was there anything else? - Okay, no thanks, bye.

That's what's got him where he is,

the fact that people know that he will always ride everyday

if it's physically possible, and that is the difference.

Yeah, very well, no, that's fine for AP tonight.

Getting to the tally of 4,000,

that's probably a lot to do why he's got there,

'cause either he'll go racing when a lot of people, years ago, wouldn't have done.

They would've took days off, but not him, no.

Rushing round these

little tracks, riding winners for a couple of thousand,

and that... Are those basically, are those his championship months, aren't they?

Yeah, they are.

I think what makes it extraordinary is he's only got to compete against himself.

Yeah, he's still willing to get in the car,

drive five hours up to Newcastle for one ride,

turn around and then do it all over again.

Thank you very much, sir, and the best of luck to you.

Yes, that's right, I mean, we're betting on

whether he'll reach 5,000 winners,

this is the next enormous land mark,

and, of course, when he got to 4,000, we thought it was highly unlikely.

It's all numbers. It's only ever been numbers.

It was about riding as many winners as quickly as possible,

and give them as little time to dream about even being champion jockey, as possible,

because the longer they have, the more sometimes it can become reality.

I always wanted to just sicken them as quickly as possible.

I wanted it to be over before it started if I could help it, you know?

You know, and it's always that thing,

he wants them to look across at him

and go, "Oh, no, it's AP,"

and that's what you do when you're riding against him,

you just think, "Oh, yeah, I've got a chance, got a chance,"

then you look across, and go, "Oh, no, it's like Doctor Death."

And they're off.

Lucky Prince is the first away being followed by Chalk It Down and Dresden,

they're chased by Black Sea King and Valley Brig and as they step over...

And they're rallying to the outside,

Chalk It Down, Dresden also trying to get on terms,

they make the run down towards the final fight...

And Dresden is down! Dresden is down, and that has left Chalk It Down in front

in the hands of the champion jockey.

And going towards the finish,

is Chalk It Down who will chalk up his first win over hurdles.

May be lucky.

Chalk It Down the winner, Fancy King second,

Braccus third and Lucky Prince of Valley bring in.

You kind of set yourself goals,

I was thinking if I rode 20 winners in May, then that would be good, you know?

And you're getting there now?

Well, I've ridden 21, so I'm thinking now,

hopefully, I can ride 30 winners in May, so the goal posts have changed quickly.

I'll be disappointed if I don't ride 30 winners.

If I don't ride nine more in May you know.

And what happens if you don't?

Uh, that'll be a bit of a failure, won't it.

I do worry about maybe not being as good as I once was,

or not having as many winners as I should have done,

or worrying that people might think because I've had a lot of success in the past

that I might not be as hungry to have it again, you know, so.

Or they might think that, you know, his time is up,

he's not as good as he once was, which happens to every sports person, so.

I will give it a go, and try to ride my fastest ever fiftieth winner if I can, um,

but, also, I wanted to be champion jockey this year,

'cause if I am, it'll be my twentieth season

and, um, you know, that's something I could never have dreamed of being able to do,

so this season will be harder than any of the others to try and achieve that, so.

Tornado Bob from Don Quixote... is rallying on that flat.

Tornado Bob, Don Quixote with that... On the line.

McCoy getting it on close. His fastest ever 50.

Don Quixote gone up in the shadows...