When you were the absolute master of your craft for most of your adult life, it can be difficult to walk away from the sport in which you made your name.
But the accumulation of broken bones, advancing years and a desire to bow out at the top meant that Tony McCoy, commonly known as AP, called time on his career as a jockey back in 2015.
A decade later, however, and the itch to return to the saddle is still there. But you won’t see McCoy back on the circuit any time soon… not if his wife Chanelle has anything to do with it, anyway.
Man for the Big Occasion
In a career in which he won pretty much everything, some of the Country Antrim man’s best days came at the Cheltenham Festival.
McCoy, still active in the sport as a TV pundit, has nominated the three horses that he believes are the best bets for the 2025 edition. Majborough, the 8/15 favourite for the Arkle in the latest Cheltenham odds, is joined on his shortlist by Ryanair Chase favourite Fact to File.
And McCoy’s horse race betting trio is rounded out by Galopin Des Champs, who will be looking to win a third consecutive edition of the Cheltenham Gold Cup – a feat last achieved by Best Mate in the early noughties.
The 50-year-old admitted that completing the hat-trick would ‘not be easy’ for Willie Mullins’ horse, although Galopin Des Champs remains such a hot favourite to win the Gold Cup that some bookmakers are offering a betting market without him.
If he can pull it off, then Galopin Des Champs will join McCoy in National Hunt racing’s hall of fame.
All Time Great
The emotional pull of a return to the saddle is still somewhat there for McCoy, although he told Nick Luck in an interview on the eve of the Cheltenham Festival that he has ‘no regrets’ about his decision to retire.
“It’s hard for any sportsperson when they retire,” he said. “When you get up in the morning you don’t feel the same pressure. I felt every day I needed to perform. Now all that has gone… but it was the right thing to do.”
That said, there was a temptation to return to racing in 2017… although a curt response from wife Chanelle quickly put those plans to bed.
It was on a riding day at Jonjo O’Neill’s yard – and a session on Gold Cup contender Minella Rocco specifically – that convinced McCoy that he still had what it takes to compete at the highest level.
And all of the cards seemed to fall into place for a return when Barry Geraghty, another top Irish jockey who would have taken the ride on Minella Rocco, suffered a sickening injury on the eve of the Cheltenham Festival that resulted in cracked ribs and a puncture lung.
When McCoy spoke to Chanelle about the possibility of a return, her answer was brusque: “Wise up,” was her sole response.
And that was the end of that. The Irishman is still a key member of ITV’s Cheltenham Festival team, mind you, and so he’ll have the best seat in the house as the next generation of stars do battle in March.
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