Being AP (2015) is an inspiring sports documentary that follows the remarkable final season of legendary jockey AP McCoy, one of the most successful and respected figures in horse racing history. This compelling film provides unprecedented access to McCoy's personal and professional life as he prepares to retire after an extraordinary career filled with triumphs, challenges, dedication, and determination.
Through exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, emotional interviews, and thrilling race-day moments, Being AP explores the sacrifices required to compete at the highest level of professional horse racing. The documentary offers a powerful look at the physical and mental demands of elite sport while celebrating the legacy of a true champion.
Whether you're a fan of horse racing, sports documentaries, or inspiring real-life stories, Being AP (2015) delivers an unforgettable journey into the life of a sporting icon.
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Sport
Release Year: 2015
Language: English
Director: Anthony Wonke
#BeingAP #APMcCoy #Documentary #SportsDocumentary #HorseRacing #Jockey #Biography #RacingLegend #BritishDocumentary #Sport
Disclaimer: This upload is published with authorization from the rights holder. All rights remain with their respective owners.
Through exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, emotional interviews, and thrilling race-day moments, Being AP explores the sacrifices required to compete at the highest level of professional horse racing. The documentary offers a powerful look at the physical and mental demands of elite sport while celebrating the legacy of a true champion.
Whether you're a fan of horse racing, sports documentaries, or inspiring real-life stories, Being AP (2015) delivers an unforgettable journey into the life of a sporting icon.
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Sport
Release Year: 2015
Language: English
Director: Anthony Wonke
#BeingAP #APMcCoy #Documentary #SportsDocumentary #HorseRacing #Jockey #Biography #RacingLegend #BritishDocumentary #Sport
Disclaimer: This upload is published with authorization from the rights holder. All rights remain with their respective owners.
Category
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Short filmTranscript
00:00:00and the home straight.
00:00:02Risk Alain Fein continues to have the lead,
00:00:05still about 7.8 lengths ahead.
00:00:07From in second position is Roger O'Reilly.
00:00:10He's got the lead.
00:00:11He's got the lead.
00:00:12He's got the lead.
00:00:13He's got the lead.
00:00:14He's got the lead.
00:00:15He's got the lead.
00:00:16He's got the lead.
00:00:17He's got the lead.
00:00:18He's got the lead.
00:00:19He's got the lead.
00:00:20He's got the lead.
00:00:21He's got the lead.
00:00:22He's got the lead.
00:00:23He's got the lead.
00:00:24He's got the lead.
00:00:25He's got the lead.
00:00:26He's got the lead.
00:00:27He's got the lead.
00:00:28He's got the lead.
00:00:29He's got the lead.
00:00:30He's got the lead.
00:00:31He's got the lead.
00:00:32He's got the lead.
00:00:33He's got the lead.
00:00:34He's got the lead.
00:00:35He's got the lead.
00:00:36He's got the lead.
00:00:37He's got the lead.
00:00:38He's got the lead.
00:00:39He's got the lead.
00:00:40He's got the lead.
00:00:41He's got the lead.
00:00:42He's got the lead.
00:00:43He's got the lead.
00:00:44He's got the lead.
00:00:45He's got the lead.
00:00:46He's got the lead.
00:00:47He's got the lead.
00:00:48He's got the lead.
00:00:49He's got the lead.
00:00:50He's got the lead.
00:00:51He's got the lead.
00:00:52He's got the lead.
00:00:53He's got the lead.
00:00:54He's got the lead.
00:00:55He's got the lead.
00:00:56He's got the lead.
00:00:59Only now a narrow lead.
00:01:00Cardinal Walter almost level with him.
00:01:02He's come there very strongly indeed for Barry Geraghty.
00:01:05And he's now in front as they head down towards the second last.
00:01:08QE is trying to get there with raw vacation.
00:01:11A prairie turn on the extreme left.
00:01:13Boothrell on the right.
00:01:15Coming into it as well.
00:01:16It's like being an addict.
00:01:20I am an addict to my way of life.
00:01:24Because it's like a drug.
00:01:30I'm an addict to riding horses.
00:01:32I'm an addict to winning.
00:01:37But it wears off and then you have to go chasing it again.
00:01:42It's all about winning.
00:01:44That's what you're really addicted to.
00:01:48And that's why you go chasing that kick that sort of makes it different.
00:02:00I don't know where the excitement comes from.
00:02:02Just the riding and the jumping the fences.
00:02:06There's lots of other horses around you.
00:02:09You know that there's not much room.
00:02:10You don't get to see much.
00:02:13But there's horses following around you.
00:02:21I don't know where the excitement comes from.
00:02:23Just the riding and the jumping the fences.
00:02:25There's lots of other horses around you.
00:02:28But I suppose near the end the adrenaline is in winning.
00:02:31That's what it's all about.
00:02:34It's all about winning.
00:02:46I think you have to have goals in life.
00:02:48You have to have something to chase.
00:02:50You have to chase the thing that you're passionate about.
00:02:54You have to have something to chase.
00:02:55You have to chase the thing that you can never catch.
00:03:24I don't think I was ever really content in my life.
00:03:29Because no matter how much you have a go at it.
00:03:31No matter how much you try, you can't.
00:03:35You can't be as good as you want to be.
00:03:54SIGHS
00:04:00Previous injuries?
00:04:03Cheekbone.
00:04:05Left or right?
00:04:06Left, yeah, because I never really got the feeling back.
00:04:09Collarbone.
00:04:11Twice, I think.
00:04:12Shoulder blade.
00:04:14Can't remember which one.
00:04:16Sternum.
00:04:17Yeah.
00:04:18The ribs are...
00:04:20They've all had a go, I think.
00:04:23My back is fused from T...
00:04:27..nine to 12.
00:04:30Don't put my right arm...
00:04:33..radius on there.
00:04:34Both at the same time?
00:04:35Both at the same time.
00:04:36OK.
00:04:37My right wrist as well.
00:04:39My left hip and fib.
00:04:41I think I just got kicked there a few times.
00:04:43Yeah, yeah.
00:04:44And my right ankle, I think.
00:04:46Never had a concussion?
00:04:48I've had lots of bangs in the head.
00:04:50But I've always been able to function and know where I am.
00:04:55Hands on the side of your thighs.
00:04:57As my career developed and I was lucky enough to become successful,
00:05:01it became a bit of a numbers thing, you know?
00:05:04When I started off, I wanted to be champion jockey,
00:05:07and when I was champion jockey,
00:05:09then I wanted to ride more winners than any jump jockey I'd ridden before.
00:05:132002, I was able to do that.
00:05:15I rode 289 winners in that season.
00:05:21Then you want to win more jockey championships
00:05:24than any jump jockey has before,
00:05:26and you want to ride more winners than any jump jockey has before.
00:05:30When I rode 3,000 winners, I actually thought,
00:05:33I will be able to ride 4,000 winners.
00:05:35I had it in my head, I thought, this is achievable, you know?
00:05:38But as I say, to be champion jockey 18 times
00:05:40and ride 4,000 winners is incomparable.
00:05:43Chris Finn is out in front here.
00:05:45Chris Finn from Panama, Petras.
00:05:47Mountain Dunes still staying on.
00:05:49Surely he can't get him.
00:05:51The final find now for the tiny jump, Chris Finn,
00:05:54and Mountain Dunes have Tony McCoy.
00:05:56Now watching a tremendous attack on the outside.
00:05:59He's done it! What a hero!
00:06:01What a sportsman, what a jockey.
00:06:034,000 up for Tony McCoy and Mountain Dunes,
00:06:06who claim Chris Finn late,
00:06:08and Panama, Petras, back in third place.
00:06:11The thing about records is they always get broken, you know?
00:06:14They always get broken, so...
00:06:16I want to make it as tough as possible
00:06:18for whoever is breaking them, you know?
00:06:20Because in, you know, in 20 years' time,
00:06:23if someone is champion jockey for the 20th time, I'll be 60.
00:06:26Or when I'm dead and buried, at least it won't annoy me.
00:06:33OK, we go out this way.
00:06:38Evie? Sweet... Sweetie, can you stay with me?
00:06:42Thank you. Put your thing on.
00:06:46Right, please stay with me, right beside me.
00:06:49Our award for this season's champion jockey.
00:06:52He's been the champion every year since he started riding,
00:06:56taking a conditional title
00:06:58and 18 consecutive champion jockey titles.
00:07:01He's won Gold Cups, Champion Hurdles,
00:07:03Queen Mother, Champion Chases and a Grand National.
00:07:06Ladies and gentlemen, a huge round of applause
00:07:09for our champion jockey, Tony McCoy!
00:07:12CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
00:07:17I would love him to retire at the end of this year
00:07:21because the races are run at a faster pace.
00:07:25So when a jockey does have a fall, they hit the ground faster
00:07:29and there has been a lot of bad injuries
00:07:31over the last probably two and three years.
00:07:34Is Daddy going to win this?
00:07:36Well, that's the plan, Eve, right?
00:07:39The fact that we have two kids now
00:07:41and I think the sport has been incredibly good to them
00:07:45and he is 40, you know?
00:07:47I know he's very young in some ways, but in his career, it's always...
00:07:51Hold on, there's another one. One more jump, Evie, one more jump.
00:07:54He just needs to get over this.
00:07:56He just needs to get over this.
00:07:58Come on!
00:08:00Sleepy Haven in second place makes a mistake.
00:08:03Then St Jerome, Kelton, off at the hill,
00:08:05head out to his batteries.
00:08:07Dispo away three or four legs from Sleepy Haven
00:08:10on the standside, St Jerome,
00:08:13and on the day that he's crowned 19 times champion jockey,
00:08:16Tony McCoy gets home in the first.
00:08:23So, yes, I would like him to retire this year
00:08:27mainly because of safety reasons and to get him in one piece.
00:08:31I don't want to have a husband that, you know,
00:08:35I have to help out of bed every morning
00:08:37and ideally, you know, that would be...
00:08:40Yeah.
00:08:42Can you sum up what number 19 means to you?
00:08:47You've got to enjoy the moment.
00:08:49Hopefully, I can win another jockey's title, maybe win a few more.
00:08:53I know that a lot of people have asked me about riding 5,000 winners
00:08:57and my wife would kill me for saying that,
00:08:59but, you know, you've got to give yourself targets and goals.
00:09:02You know, I've been lucky to work for great people
00:09:05that have helped me win a lot,
00:09:07and I have a great agent, Dave Roberts, who books all my rides, you know,
00:09:11so you have to continue winning.
00:09:19The season finishes on the Saturday,
00:09:21it starts again, I think, now on a Tuesday,
00:09:24and you're back to zero.
00:09:26You've got to be riding winners quickly if you want to be champion jockey.
00:09:38Hi, Dave Roberts speaking.
00:09:41I'm just checking with Chepstow tomorrow...
00:09:47OK, so AP won't be riding him tomorrow night?
00:09:50His kind of approach is numerical.
00:09:53If any horse can win any race, he will ride it,
00:09:56good jumper or bad jumper.
00:10:00That's what's got him where he is,
00:10:02the fact that people know that he will always ride every day
00:10:06if it's physically possible.
00:10:08And that is the difference.
00:10:10Very well, that's fine for AP tonight.
00:10:12Getting to the tally of 4,000,
00:10:14that's probably a lot to do with why he's got there,
00:10:17cos he'll go racing when a lot of people years ago wouldn't have done.
00:10:21They'd have took days off, but not him, no.
00:10:24Riding around these little tracks, riding winners for a couple of thousand,
00:10:28and those, basically, are his championship months, aren't they?
00:10:32Yeah, they are.
00:10:33I think what makes it extraordinary
00:10:35is he's only got to compete against himself,
00:10:37yet he's still willing to get in the car,
00:10:39drive five hours up to Newcastle for one ride,
00:10:43turn round and then do it all over again.
00:10:46I love it!
00:10:53Thank you very much, Darren. The best of luck to you.
00:10:55Yeah, that's right.
00:10:56We're expecting a winner who will reach 5,000 wins
00:10:59if this is the next enormous landmark,
00:11:01and, of course, made up to 4,000,
00:11:04it's all in numbers.
00:11:06It's only ever been numbers.
00:11:11It was about riding as many winners as quickly as possible
00:11:14and giving them as little time to dream
00:11:17about being champion jockeys as possible,
00:11:19cos the longer they have,
00:11:21the more sometimes it can become reality.
00:11:24I always wanted to just sicken them as quickly as possible.
00:11:27I wanted it to be over before it started,
00:11:30cos I could help it, you know.
00:11:32It's always that thing.
00:11:33He wants them to look across at him and go,
00:11:35oh, no, it's AP.
00:11:38And that's what you do when you're riding against him.
00:11:40You just think, oh, yeah, I've got a chance, got a chance.
00:11:42Then you look across and go, oh, no, it's like Doctor Death.
00:12:03And they're off.
00:12:05Lucky Prince is the first away,
00:12:07being followed by Chalk It Down and Dresden.
00:12:10They're chased by Plants Seeking and Barney Brigham
00:12:12as they step over.
00:12:14And they're rallying to the outside.
00:12:15Chalk It Down, Dresden, also trying to get on to him.
00:12:18They make the run down towards the final climb.
00:12:20And Dresden is down! Dresden is down!
00:12:23And that has left Chalk It Down in front
00:12:25as they head for the champion jockey.
00:12:27And going towards the finish, it is Chalk It Down
00:12:29who will chalk up his first win over hurdles.
00:12:32Maybe lucky.
00:12:33Chalk It Down the winner, Plants Seeking second,
00:12:35Crackers third, then Lucky Prince and Barney Brigham.
00:12:50You know, you kind of set yourself goals.
00:12:52You know, I was thinking if I rode 20 winners in May,
00:12:55that would be good, you know.
00:12:57You're getting there now.
00:12:58Well, I've ridden 21, so I'm thinking that
00:13:00hopefully I can ride 30 winners in May.
00:13:03So the goalposts have changed quickly.
00:13:06I'll be disappointed if I don't ride 30 winners.
00:13:10If I don't ride nine more in May, you know.
00:13:13And what happens if you don't?
00:13:15I'll be a bit of a failure.
00:13:18I do worry about, you know,
00:13:20maybe not being as good as I once was
00:13:22or not having as many winners as I should have done
00:13:25or worrying that people might think that
00:13:27because I've had a lot of success in the past
00:13:29that I might not be as hungry to have it again, you know, so...
00:13:35Or they might think that, you know, his time is up,
00:13:37he's not as good as he once was,
00:13:39which happens to every sportsperson, so...
00:13:41You know, I will give it a go and try and ride
00:13:43my fastest ever 50th winner if I can,
00:13:46but also I wanted to be champion jockey this year
00:13:49cos if I am, it'll be my 20th season,
00:13:51and, you know, that's something that I could never have dreamed of
00:13:54being able to do, so...
00:13:57This season will be harder than any of the others,
00:13:59you know, to try and achieve that, so...
00:14:02ANNOUNCER ON RADIO
00:14:05Join in and welcome Daniel Newton from Wales.
00:14:07He's riding on the front!
00:14:09Joining in on the back and he's on the front.
00:14:12He's great, he's great.
00:14:13I'm gonna tell, he's a beast,
00:14:15he's a beast, he is great.
00:14:16He's great, he is great.
00:14:17I'm gonna tell, he's a beast, he is great.
00:14:18I'm gonna tell, he's a beast, he is great.
00:14:20He's great, he is great.
00:14:21does it mean that he's got a target in mind maybe that magic number of 289 his
00:14:46best ever season tally perhaps even getting to that magic 300 what an
00:14:51achievement is this realistic this season I think it is there's no doubt
00:14:56about it he's got the fastest 50 he knows he's ahead of his schedule he'll
00:15:01have that marked now he's next target will be a hundred target after that will
00:15:08be 150 then 200 then 250 and then that magic number
00:15:16this time of year he comes maybe once twice a week really just to school all
00:15:41the young horses and even the older ones just to give him a pop let's put
00:15:45that right he has an idea of which one he would choose to ride if it came to
00:15:55that you know
00:16:06he's so much experience and what he tells you about him you take it on board
00:16:11really and nine times out of ten it comes true you know so having him on is
00:16:16a great help
00:16:19I like to do that
00:16:33yeah he's very good yeah he was quick when he was a little bit grubby like
00:16:42yeah
00:16:51he has the horses basically talking to him really and he makes him do what
00:16:57they're supposed to do and gives him a lot of confidence doing it not everybody
00:17:02has that's a magical effect really
00:17:06if he rides a horse for the first time that horse has an uncanny knack of
00:17:15improving once he's sounding
00:17:22it's uncanny how many times he's won on horses which shouldn't have won a race
00:17:29but something he gets which the horse responds to and it happens so many times
00:17:38it can't be coincidence it's as if the horse gets him on their back and the
00:17:44horse grows in confidence so the next time it runs is I quite like this
00:17:59his mentality is exceptional his knowledge of the form book you can ring
00:18:10up and ask him any horse he would know or what that horse can do the feedback
00:18:16he gives the trainer you know the horse might need blinkers or might need to be
00:18:21held up at the back and then the horse suddenly improves
00:18:29we've done his power did it in August
00:18:34yeah that's why he's doing what he's doing you know what Luke I think he's
00:18:39been picking his rides a little bit too because he's so desperate to do it in
00:18:43J.P. scholars when you get someone as successful as J.P. McManus he's polite
00:18:47he's quiet he's not exuberant
00:18:51if he goes 10 ahead of you and you jump off with him yeah that's fine
00:18:56you know he sees in somebody like J.P. somebody who's unbelievably loyal
00:19:03he's become really really close to J.P. and John Joe they've got a little bond
00:19:09between them
00:19:13hey P
00:19:16yeah he's gone lazy enough now like if you have to hit him a slouch now don't be
00:19:27fighting him a slouch but he is lazy I'm telling you he's gone a bit old-fashioned
00:19:33yeah yeah shouldn't have to
00:19:40and here is AP McCoy in the green and yellow hoops of J.P. McManus
00:19:48trained by John Jorneil white cap
00:19:53you see your husband putting themselves at risk every day and yes you've chosen
00:19:59to marry them and you've chosen to support them in the career but he has
00:20:05lived with the hardship of having very bad injuries for the last 20-odd years
00:20:11he's riding
00:20:18his ability to control pain to manage pain is very unique and very bizarre
00:20:30I mean it is quite unusual the way he can control concussion
00:20:37because if you're out then you're stepped down and he's gone out and ridden in the
00:20:42next race and has absolutely no reflection of riding in that race
00:20:49he can control it because he's driven by fear the fear of not being champion
00:20:54jockey
00:21:01just everything is it's in the head you know it's in the head
00:21:07it's like pain is temporary and losing is permanent you know I mean it's temporary
00:21:15how many are you putting in a bridge of 40 it's like having your permanent
00:21:34courtesy car when your car goes in for repair or service he needs a courtesy
00:21:38set of teeth for everything and that's why you know we're not prepared to put
00:21:42the implants in and put new teeth in straight away because you have to be
00:21:46careful
00:21:49we need to get on with this that's the idea so you tell me as and when that's
00:21:54going to be
00:21:57absolutely we're ready to go okay thank you so much just give me a smile there
00:22:11okay we'll keep them nice and white for you most people would tell you they
00:22:16think he's made of something else because I'd say 60 70% of jockeys would
00:22:21have stopped by now on what he said I mean you know every time they go to ride
00:22:27could be their last ride I sit and watch the race in here whether it's one of my
00:22:33jockeys or someone else's jockeys sooner the horse falls and you think a jockey's
00:22:36had a bad fall it just makes you sit back and wince a bit because you just
00:22:43don't know is it you are really every time you ride that could be your last
00:22:47one there are no guarantees it is a high risk sport
00:22:56and still soon a mare and Clemenson if a tug between these two as they come to
00:23:06the next flight AP McCoy out in front with a race at mercy oh my goodness me
00:23:10he's fallen AP McCoy takes a fall and then the upcoming horse appears to speckle AP at the same time
00:23:14and you get no threes or fours you only got ones or twos so we need to get rid
00:23:29of the twos and get all ones and then we'll be away won't we well do you think
00:23:35you'd be able to do that Evie are you having breakfast
00:23:44I'm sorry you know and I rode the horse in the next race because I thought I'd
00:24:12win and luckily I did win and then I gave up the rest of my rides and I
00:24:20didn't ride yesterday or so like I knew it was obviously around my chest or my
00:24:26lungs area and that but I've punctured my lungs twice in the last two years so I
00:24:34kind of know the feeling what it's like whenever they're pumped when they're
00:24:36punctured or not because your breath doesn't come back when you puncture your lung
00:24:40so I was kind of my breath wasn't great but it did gradually come back but it
00:24:50got
00:24:58idea all right good yeah I'll be many rides on Sunday
00:25:04I'm out of interest
00:25:08I only read a few of them on Sunday then and see how I am and suddenly if you
00:25:12think anyone's got a chance and I read it you know all right thanks to
00:25:23Bradley Brewster is very sore but it's grand it's getting better like I can
00:25:29lift me hand up now the 19 times champion aboard on the record moves
00:25:36alongside Roland Ruby now McCoy has to shake up on the record and Bangkok Pete
00:25:44and Wayne Cavanagh alongside moving on down towards the second last on the
00:25:48record galvanized by AP trying to see off the attentions of Bangkok Pete
00:25:54Bangkok Pete just ahead on the record though a much cleaner leap and now presented with the
00:26:00advantage McCoy driving away Bangkok Pete on the record back for more on that
00:26:06inside McCoy pulls it out of the fire and on the record for the man who breaks
00:26:11breaking records look commonplace has gone up to score and a personal
00:26:15milestone is almost reached AP McCoy as the champ has equaled the number of
00:26:21winners trained by his former boss Martin Pike Martin hello there how are
00:26:26you hello Mike very well thank you I bet you can't believe that he's closing
00:26:30down on your record can you know it's a challenge we've had between us for some
00:26:34time and he's getting so so close it really is incredible right so many
00:26:41winners and still keep going and riding better than ever
00:26:51pipes record of career wins which equal today it's you toxic oh and the moment
00:26:56our pals act is still right in the thick of things that indeed a virtually every
00:27:00single runner here
00:27:21I might have won more races than anyone else but I've lost a lot more than
00:27:44everyone else too so so I might have a lot of the records for the most wins but
00:27:49I've got the record for the most losses as well I've got the record for probably
00:27:54who's falling off the most as well because you can win the biggest horse
00:28:01races in the country and then the next year she can be in the back of an
00:28:05ambulance so you know so you can go from a very huge height to look a very sad
00:28:41you
00:28:48yeah it's so right done but obviously as I said to you but go on to the garage
00:28:59and if you're a mechanic the mechanic will fix you and you'll be better whenever
00:29:03you leave that's pretty much it I want to feel whenever you leave I'm supposed
00:29:09my mechanics don't work with old bangers that I you colored your hair what
00:29:22there's less gray in it today
00:29:31I have a good sense of humor to work with you yes he there's quite sort of
00:29:38that's the old that's the old fracture so is that is that just because I don't
00:29:45think that's been sore before you were still last time when I saw you last week
00:29:48it's gonna work through trying to release any tension through your soft
00:29:52tissue here
00:29:55it's so much easier if they didn't stand on you whenever they fall off
00:30:11it's a gimme they go on to jewel it out it's a gimme being lifted home by Tony
00:30:17McCoy this is the one he wanted he breaks Martin Fletcher record in the
00:30:20summer play on it's a gimme second goes to Loft Legend I got a fall and when I
00:30:36fell I fell away but the horse come behind me stood on me on the way past
00:30:40stood right in the middle of my chest it was my own fault that fell because it
00:30:43stepped on me right it was gonna win couldn't breathe that's what I was on
00:30:47the ground take it oh my god and then I was worried because this side of my
00:30:50chest is fucked
00:30:59he's in denial but I think he's cracked his sternum and for four ribs
00:31:06I'm thinking it was most painful thing ever
00:31:13come on Evie get stuck in Evie go on Evie
00:31:23hopefully for me it will be the last year but it's a difficult subject to you
00:31:29approach with him you know he's just ridden 50 winners in 37 days it's the
00:31:37best season he's ever started off in the history of his career
00:31:42so there's reasons why he should continue riding for another possibly
00:31:47three years and there's very good reasons why he should stop this year
00:31:54I can't force him and I wouldn't you know the decision has got to be his
00:31:59because he's got to live with the consequences
00:32:23well but an unbelievable summer really to be honest I don't know what I've been doing the last 20 years
00:32:41because this summer's been better than anything for some reason I've been I've
00:32:45been luckier this time well I know why I've been lucky this time riding I'm riding
00:32:48for a lot of people Jason McGuire unfortunately for him got a really bad
00:32:52injury on the Monday before Cheltenham and he hasn't ridden since you know he
00:32:58was well he was practically dead to be honest you know I think he was
00:33:04resuscitated at one point in the way to hospital and he hasn't ridden since then
00:33:09and Jason is first jockey to Donald McCain who's you know a very powerful
00:33:15stable and I've been lucky enough to ride the best part of 25 winners for him
00:33:20that I wouldn't have ridden I've also ridden I think 12 winners for Kim Bailey
00:33:25which Jason would have ridden as well so you know I've probably ridden the best
00:33:29part of 40 winners maybe that Jason might have ridden so it is possible to
00:33:33write 300 winners 300 winners means you've got to write a winner every day
00:33:38other than 65 days a year there's only 65 days a year that you cannot write a
00:33:43winner
00:34:00it'll be getting worse now as he's getting better you know he'll be feeling
00:34:05like he can get back you know that's the worst of it but look he's a lucky boy
00:34:11he was bloody dead
00:34:22do you know just when you say that I actually nearly cut some off my food
00:34:27in the space of like 10 minutes we're talking about two jockeys being
00:34:30resuscitated I don't know honey I mean I know you're absolutely flying at this
00:34:40year and I know it's hard I think I think this year is a good good year honey
00:34:48to call it a day you heard me this year is a good year to call it a day yeah I
00:34:59have too many bones in my fish why on earth would any year be a good year to
00:35:07call it a day what's meant to be is meant to be I know but you can't you
00:35:14know I mean you can't yes I agree to that but unfortunately with some things
00:35:21you know some things you have to make a decision you can't wait until the
00:35:26decision is made for you okay I know but I'm just all I'm saying is if the
00:35:39season doesn't go the way you planned right God made you get an injury God
00:35:43forbid you know you got this conversation during dinner well I just
00:35:48cuz I it's hard to talk to you about it at home because you're watching Sky
00:35:52Sports and you're Guy Plus and this and that you're not like yeah you're not
00:35:59engaged okay so the other scenario is doing everything I wanted to do for the last 20 odd years
00:36:11to waking up and thinking well what happens to that then well listen there'll be a few
00:36:18lunch boxes for you to buy, there'll be a few bibs for you to take out
00:36:32hi Rebecca just say AP can ride both horses tomorrow how about it in the 140 at the
00:36:39Chepstow? AP's available for him if you want him, no?
00:36:45okay no problem the only time you'll realize what he's achieved is when he
00:36:51retires
00:36:54we've never spoke about it apart from once and the conversation lasted about
00:36:58five seconds it's not on the agenda at the moment I hope it goes on as long as
00:37:05possible what he's achieved I don't think will
00:37:09ever be matched I honestly don't think in my lifetime someone will ever get to
00:37:154,000 winners again to be able to stay in one piece for 20 years and to ride
00:37:23200 winners a year in that time I can't see that happening
00:37:29he's just had a fall, he's interrupted, he's just fell
00:37:41that did not look very good
00:37:53if in doubt he could have put his foot in the ditch
00:37:59I don't know
00:38:15I think someone was going to send it on to my doctor I think
00:38:21hi hey I went to see the doctor and he said I was fine
00:38:29he said I'm perfect you know
00:38:33could he see your broken ribs?
00:38:35he said he seen in my eye shows that there was lots of old broken ribs and
00:38:40yeah and everything else looked perfect he said
00:38:45but it wasn't like you convinced him I'm fine to ride
00:38:50did he say look you can ride
00:38:52Chanel
00:38:54but did you ask him if you have a fall
00:38:56and you know could it
00:38:58I did Chanel
00:39:00could the air pocket get bigger
00:39:02he said there's a bigger risk of you on a horse
00:39:04than there is your lung being a problem
00:39:06ok so if you have a fall tomorrow
00:39:08and if you get any impact
00:39:10around your lung
00:39:12it shouldn't be too dangerous
00:39:14it's no different than normal
00:39:16he said there's no more risk
00:39:18than there is normal risk
00:39:20how do you feel today
00:39:22perfect
00:39:24what do you say perfect
00:39:26if you'd asked me
00:39:28on Friday would I feel like
00:39:30I'd have been delighted if I felt the way I do today
00:39:32ok so you're going to ride
00:39:34tomorrow
00:39:36oh yeah
00:39:38I'll see you when you get home
00:39:40ok bye bye
00:40:10150th for AP this season
00:40:12lightning rod in the centre
00:40:14to the outside is tied away
00:40:36what we can do today
00:40:38is just help the healing
00:40:40of the injury with the injection
00:40:42are you happy with that
00:40:48ok
00:40:50so just spin that
00:40:52alright
00:41:08all done
00:41:10is that ok
00:41:12sure
00:41:14take it easy
00:41:26who is that
00:41:30I think he is better looking
00:41:32what do you think he means
00:41:34can you sit down
00:41:36yeah yeah
00:41:38I'm alright
00:41:40I'm very badly wounded
00:41:42I was on the ground
00:41:44I could not get a breath
00:41:46I think he gave me a shot of morphine
00:41:48he'd laugh at you
00:41:50and he stood in the kitchen
00:41:52and he said to me I'm going to retire
00:41:54at the end of the year
00:41:56and I said to him
00:41:58and he said to me yeah I'm going to retire
00:42:00at the end of the year
00:42:02and he said to me
00:42:04I'm not joking
00:42:06he did that because I wanted to see
00:42:08what it felt like me saying I'm going to retire
00:42:10and I said to him
00:42:12how did it sit with you
00:42:14and he said to me
00:42:16I just felt like getting sick after he said it
00:42:18to nose
00:42:224 years
00:42:244 years
00:42:26250
00:42:283 years
00:42:30anyway
00:42:322 years
00:42:34I think we're making baby steps
00:42:36I wanted to hear myself saying
00:42:38I wanted to see what it felt like
00:42:40it didn't work
00:42:42ok
00:42:44and now I think I'm invincible
00:42:46so I'm alright
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00:45:48Like, wrecking my boss.
00:45:50Why do you not want to go on holidays?
00:45:53Well...
00:45:55Do I need to state the obvious?
00:45:57Cos the only reason you're going on holiday
00:45:58is because you're not riding?
00:46:00Yeah.
00:46:01Yeah.
00:46:02You have a week now to recharge your battery,
00:46:05get your collarbone in the sun, vitamin D,
00:46:08and can you just try and accept you have an injury
00:46:13and you are... You know what I mean?
00:46:17That you're not just going to be completely...
00:46:19Actually, can I just ask you,
00:46:22you're not going to be completely frying my head for the next week,
00:46:25because that's what will happen.
00:46:27And you know what, honey, it's not all about you.
00:46:30Since when?
00:46:33It's not.
00:46:35Because I have a job, I work,
00:46:38and it's nice for me to get away and de-stress as well
00:46:41from on holidays.
00:46:44You know.
00:46:45I wonder if I just add the whole packet,
00:46:46would it help me?
00:46:48No, Ant, because your liver can only absorb so much...
00:46:54You know, so much of the tablet.
00:46:58Right, how many nights are we there for?
00:47:00Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday?
00:47:04Friday. Five nights.
00:47:07You're starting to do my head in.
00:47:08I haven't even got outside the door.
00:47:11I mean, I'm quite glad now that we're settled into the house
00:47:13that you have stopped telling me to pinch myself.
00:47:16And I'm so lucky to be married to you.
00:47:18You've been injured every time we've been there.
00:47:21Even when we went on our honeymoon, you were in a sling.
00:47:23PHONE RINGS
00:47:26Well...
00:47:28Yeah, my collarbone's dislocated and it's broke as well, so...
00:47:33I was kind of getting through it and then I got a fall on Tuesday
00:47:35and that kind of...
00:47:37It kind of ended it.
00:47:39So we're going away in the morning, myself and Chanel.
00:47:43I'm going to Barbados for a week.
00:47:46Well, I'm only going really, cos the sun might help it.
00:47:49For the first four or five days when I was off,
00:47:51I was wanting to bang my shoulder off the wall, you know what I mean?
00:47:54Cos I was kind of thinking that it deserves to be punished
00:47:56for doing this to me.
00:47:59Or some part has to take the blame.
00:48:01Why should it be me?
00:48:04I'm not the one that's being weak.
00:48:06Part of my body is being weak, not me.
00:48:14How are you, babe?
00:48:16Yeah.
00:48:24How was your day as well?
00:48:26Yeah.
00:48:40I've not seen him since he went off to Barbados.
00:48:42He looks healthy enough.
00:48:44He looks as though the rest has done him good.
00:48:46He's been severely beaten up over the last few weeks.
00:48:48He hasn't ridden since November the 5th.
00:48:52Yeah, I mean, he's had a nightmare.
00:48:54The sort of run he couldn't afford.
00:48:56He could hardly walk into the weigh-in room.
00:48:59White as a sheet, he's haggard.
00:49:04For example, Muhammad Ali had a great chin.
00:49:06No-one ever knocked him out.
00:49:07AP has got an amazing pain threshold.
00:49:10And he's proud of it.
00:49:12This was one of his last great frontiers,
00:49:14the 300 winners in a season.
00:49:18Yeah, we were going!
00:49:32Another incredible time.
00:49:36Just things, you know, they're going from strength to strength.
00:49:39Yeah, it's going well, but, you know,
00:49:42hopefully it's keeping it going is the thing, isn't it?
00:49:44You know, and making your job as hard as possible,
00:49:46like, you know, cos you've been struggling pretty much all night
00:49:49in the other interviews.
00:49:50I'm not sure whether you'll be back or not, will you?
00:49:52No, no, no, no, no, you're absolutely fine.
00:49:54You can keep talking for as long as you want.
00:49:56I'm off. Best of luck.
00:49:57No, when are you going to hang your coat up?
00:50:00Ah, look, as you said, you're only as good as your last...
00:50:02Well, I was going to say, you're only as good as your last winner.
00:50:05In your case, you're only as good as your last haircut.
00:50:08And in your case, I don't know what the fuck you're still doing here.
00:50:31Alan, what do you think, in his mind,
00:50:34is the benchmark when he says,
00:50:37I've done it, that's enough?
00:50:41Is it 20 titles?
00:50:42Is it 5,000?
00:50:45Is it to win another gold cup?
00:50:47Is it to win another national?
00:50:49You want to try one, yeah? I think that would be very good.
00:50:52He obviously wants to win the big races,
00:50:53but the fact is, he's won them all.
00:50:58I think he constantly wants to do things he hasn't done before.
00:51:02And that's why the 300 was such a big thing then.
00:51:05And that's why I still, in my mind,
00:51:07wonder how that's going to affect him, the failure to do it.
00:51:13It could mean that he wants to go on even longer.
00:51:16Failure in his mind, yeah.
00:51:21So, Chanel just said, can you come for dinner?
00:51:23Yeah. Just said, you know...
00:51:27We've been trying to get together, obviously, but it's...
00:51:30She said, can you come this week?
00:51:33Er...
00:51:35And it was all arranged by Chanel, nothing to do with AP.
00:51:42So, I don't honestly know, is the answer.
00:51:48It may just be dinner.
00:51:49I don't know.
00:51:58I don't know, I'm not going to go down to that.
00:52:00And then I was going riding.
00:52:02I went riding then for three days there, whatever that was.
00:52:05Brain dead. But, you know...
00:52:07HE LAUGHS
00:52:09I... I... I actually...
00:52:11She's an animal seeker now.
00:52:13I actually said, I still think,
00:52:14one of the best rides you'll ever give a horse
00:52:17was good Mirage at Wetherby.
00:52:18Oh, yeah.
00:52:19Cos you were riding that with one hand there.
00:52:21I know, I know.
00:52:22And it pulled like mad.
00:52:24It was a horrible horse to ride in that sense.
00:52:26I know.
00:52:27And the whole thing was that you were so stubborn about it,
00:52:31you know, that it was like, well,
00:52:32you know, I'm not listening to my collarbone, I'm not.
00:52:35So what, it's shattered, it's hanging off.
00:52:37My lung is punctured, my ribs are broken.
00:52:39I will continue riding.
00:52:41That really mentally, to my head, broke my heart.
00:52:45That did.
00:52:47Thinking that I actually was going to ride 300m
00:52:49and I'm not going to ride 300m.
00:52:51Oh, it just...
00:52:53The thought of it makes me want to cry.
00:52:55And I was, you know, and then I was thinking,
00:53:00like, you know, that I should retire at the end of the year.
00:53:06I should retire at the end of the year.
00:53:07And then I'm thinking, I don't even know when I should retire.
00:53:11I don't know whether I should announce
00:53:12I'm going to retire at the end of the year.
00:53:14I don't, you know, should I retire when I ride my 200m,
00:53:19or just retire in, you know, a week's time
00:53:22or six weeks' time or two months' time?
00:53:24Personally, for me, I would like to go out on a winner.
00:53:28What have you got now?
00:53:2919...
00:53:31182, was it?
00:53:32184.
00:53:34To say you said, on the 200m, you announce it.
00:53:37Mm-hm.
00:53:38So on a normal run of things,
00:53:4116 winners announcing it on February 14, 15, around that time.
00:53:49The same as the 4,000 winners.
00:53:50You're on tour for, like, three or four days.
00:53:52Like, I am, just because I just, it's the right thing to do.
00:53:56I will hopefully retire on one of John Joe's horses that JB owns.
00:53:59Yeah, so it should be in the green and gold colours.
00:54:01It's going to be one of John Joe's in the green and gold colours.
00:54:03Yeah, exactly.
00:54:05I'm not shocked.
00:54:08I'm upset because it's the end of a great story
00:54:12if you want to look at it like that.
00:54:13But then, in the cold light of day, what we've achieved,
00:54:16as I say, whether you agree with me or not,
00:54:19no-one will do that.
00:54:22It's not possible.
00:54:23For someone to ride 2,000 winners,
00:54:26they've got to ride for 20 years
00:54:28and ride 100 winners a year for 20 years.
00:54:31That's half of what you've got.
00:54:34I think...
00:54:35So that's the plan.
00:54:36I think 200, yeah.
00:54:37No, I think 200's right, definitely.
00:54:39I think it's a good decision.
00:54:41To me, it feels right.
00:54:42Yeah, I think it feels right too.
00:54:43That's just how great God's been fasting.
00:54:45I think it feels right.
00:54:47I actually think it feels right.
00:54:49I actually feel happy now that I've spoken about it.
00:54:52I think once you get to that 200 and announce it,
00:54:54then the...
00:54:55You'll feel relieved.
00:54:56It'll take a lot of...
00:54:58Not pressure, but it takes it.
00:54:59It's there, it's done.
00:55:00Yeah.
00:55:01You know.
00:55:02I think there will be a bit of relief.
00:55:03Yeah.
00:55:04That I've been able to...
00:55:06Do you feel relieved now?
00:55:07A bit, yeah.
00:55:08BELL RINGS
00:55:20BELL RINGS
00:55:25Go on!
00:55:38Using the running rail coming up this landslide,
00:55:41the Dajon looks to be Barry Geraghty,
00:55:42his great friend and rival on board West Wizard.
00:55:45But it's Manolo Rocco
00:55:47in the J.P. McManus colours, the distinctive colours.
00:55:50And now it's still out in front, Manolo Rocco.
00:55:52West Wizard's in the danger
00:55:53as A.P. McCoy gets into the drive position
00:55:56as he closes in once again on the magic 200.
00:55:58He's at 197, jumping this final flight.
00:56:01Jumps it well.
00:56:02West Wizard rather dies at that and is left floundering.
00:56:05But it's going to be another win for A.P. McCoy.
00:56:08The champ moves to 198 here in Kempton
00:56:11with an effortless victory here on Manolo Rocco.
00:56:14And, basically, I am going through Tyra at the end of the season.
00:56:19So I am.
00:56:20THEY LAUGH
00:56:21I know.
00:56:24Wow.
00:56:25So... I'm so excited.
00:56:30So it's... It's a sad day, isn't it?
00:56:31So I may as well just go away and die now.
00:56:34Oh, my goodness. You can't.
00:56:35You've got so many... Look at all these pages of things for you to do.
00:56:39Claire, you're... Claire is only getting warmed up now.
00:56:43All the things she's been saying.
00:56:45Claire's been waiting for this moment for so long.
00:56:47However, I do say it is quite... It is sad and it's...
00:56:49You can just do whatever you want with my Twitter. I don't care.
00:56:52I hate it.
00:56:56And would you like to be the face for peanut butter?
00:57:00Not the face of peanut butter, but there's this man versus horse.
00:57:04I don't know. It's like 40 miles or something.
00:57:06They have to race against a horse
00:57:08and see who gets to the finish line the quickest.
00:57:11However, it depends on what their strategies are
00:57:13and it might fit in.
00:57:15Yeah. So...
00:57:19Peanut butter.
00:57:20That could be quite easy. It's the day of media work
00:57:23and then it's obviously the face of this festival
00:57:25and lots of people race...
00:57:27So you won't be on the front of a peanut butter jar.
00:57:29I won't have to, like, look at him when I open the press.
00:57:32Isn't that that kid? That peanut butter kid or whatever it is.
00:57:41That's just a possibility.
00:57:46Depressing, isn't it?
00:57:49Such a depressing thought.
00:57:51Oh, honey.
00:57:56I know. I'm glad.
00:58:00I am.
00:58:01You were a struggle.
00:58:02You're not glad. It was always going to be a really hard decision
00:58:07and I think everyone's going to be pretty sad when they read it.
00:58:11BELL RINGS
00:58:17All the way to the checkers.
00:58:19Last call, thank you.
00:58:42WHISTLE BLOWS
00:58:56Flags up, starters ready and about to line up.
00:59:03Mr Mole has just shied at the tape there.
00:59:06He was lined up in first place
00:59:08but he's dropped ten lengths behind the others.
00:59:11He gets away in last position.
00:59:13It is a black marker of the crint set.
00:59:15They take the water just once.
00:59:16It's fence number three, Uxie Xandor, up and over safely.
00:59:24Show's in second place.
00:59:26Out there, Alessandro Grugi,
00:59:28Red Jack and Jamie Moore.
00:59:33One length ahead of the nose bandit, Mr Mole,
00:59:36and AP McCoy as they come to the first of it.
00:59:40It's going to be the first of the ditches.
00:59:42Number 11 will also be an open ditch.
00:59:46Little early on, optimism to Mole.
00:59:48Extra round at the start of Corrigan.
00:59:50That's just about marked for the last on the far side coming up.
01:00:02Uxie Xandor, big leap over there, but over the cane.
01:00:10Uxie Xandor, on the right, leading on the left with the nose bandit, Mr Mole.
01:00:14And between them, the white face of Simon Grugi
01:00:16beginning to get closer.
01:00:18Black fence four from the finish there, Mr Mole on the left,
01:00:21comes through to take it up, Simon Grugi, an error in third position.
01:00:25Uxie Xandor's in second.
01:00:26Here's the final one of the ditches now.
01:00:28And Mr Mole, at the three-point mark,
01:00:31is going to be the last one of the ditches.
01:00:33He's going to be the last one of the ditches.
01:00:36He's going to be the last one of the ditches.
01:00:38He's going to be the last one of the ditches now.
01:00:40And Mr Mole, at the third-last fence, comes in towards him.
01:00:43Over safely, Simon Grugi's unseated, Jamie Moore.
01:00:46Simon Grugi unseats Jamie Moore at the third-last,
01:00:49and Mr Mole is left clear.
01:00:50Upsilon Blue has joined Uxie Xandor for second position
01:00:54at the second-last, and it's AP on Mr Mole.
01:00:58Heads down towards the final fence, he's 15, let's say.
01:01:01Uxie Xandor with the riderless Simon Grugi next to him.
01:01:04Upsilon Blue is next at the final obstacle.
01:01:08Mr Mole up and over the last safely.
01:01:10Uxie Xandor is unseated, Barry Geraghty at the last.
01:01:14Upsilon Blue left in third position,
01:01:16Karinka Dancer in fourth.
01:01:18And it's Mr Mole, best of hand at the start,
01:01:20but he will give AP McCoy his 200th winner of the season.
01:01:26200th of the season for Tony McCoy,
01:01:29and it's doubtful he's ridden many more traumatic races this year.
01:01:38MUSIC PLAYS
01:01:59I'm going to relive the start here,
01:02:01and I hope you don't just take it lightly,
01:02:04but it's your tenth time that you've brought up
01:02:07a double century of winners.
01:02:08That is quite an incredible achievement.
01:02:11I'm going to tell you something else, Rishi,
01:02:12it's going to be the last time I'll ride 200 winners,
01:02:15because I'm going to be retiring at the end of the season.
01:02:18There's a bit of news to you.
01:02:20That is a bit of a bombshell.
01:02:22What's been the deciding factor in that, AP?
01:02:25Ah, look, it's just I want to go out at the top.
01:02:28I want to go out as champion jockey.
01:02:31It'll be my 20th year if I can win the jockey's championship.
01:02:35I want to go out and enjoy riding, you know,
01:02:38and I'm still relatively at the top,
01:02:40so my mum and dad don't even know,
01:02:43so they're going to find out on television.
01:02:45So I think that'll be happening, I'm sure.
01:02:48Well, AP, that is amazing news.
01:02:51Just all I can say is congratulations and well done.
01:02:56AP's just announced he's retiring at the end of the season.
01:03:00A shell-shock winners' enclosure here at Newbury Inn.
01:03:0620's a good number and I still enjoy it.
01:03:09I wanted to, hopefully, while I was still riding well,
01:03:12I wanted to go out relatively at the top,
01:03:14so I look...
01:03:18Time is for no man, does it?
01:03:19So it's nothing new for me.
01:03:20You're quite emotional about it, aren't you?
01:03:22I am, yeah, because I love riding.
01:03:23You're not going to be a very happy guy, are you?
01:03:26It's funny, because you don't know whether...
01:03:28You don't know whether you're going to feel unhappy or sad,
01:03:30but I think it's definitely a mix of both.
01:03:36How you all doing?
01:03:37Good job.
01:03:40You're just milking the PR again, aren't you?
01:03:42Milking it.
01:03:44No pressure, Dickie-ball.
01:03:45Yeah.
01:03:46Next year, like, just be here.
01:03:47My last. No pressure, Dick, it's your butt.
01:03:50I'm likely to just finish with you,
01:03:52because then I'm going to say, yeah, it's just like...
01:03:55Anyway, here's to a new life. Here's to a new husband.
01:03:57What?
01:03:59What am I going to say? Here's to a husband.
01:04:01I couldn't have him on a Saturday night in London, I think.
01:04:03What's the best decision you've ever made
01:04:05with regard to your riding career?
01:04:07To become a jockey was the best decision I ever made,
01:04:10so I've got a great way of life and I will really miss it.
01:04:14So I don't know what I'm going to...
01:04:15I'll never find anything that's going to replace that buzz,
01:04:18but I'm aware that in sports, you can't keep going forever.
01:04:21Thank you.
01:04:22Hey, P McCoy.
01:04:23Sorry.
01:04:25Quite simply, I'll let you try...
01:04:33I just got back to room and there was a text on the phone
01:04:36about your husband's announcement.
01:04:38I know it was always going to happen someday,
01:04:40but, my God, I'm still speechless.
01:04:43The void left will be unfulfilled.
01:04:47Love to you all and see you soon, Graeme and Becky Lee.
01:04:51Oh...
01:04:54That's sweet.
01:04:58That was a lot of sadness.
01:05:00I don't think it's probably the first time
01:05:01that I probably want to race them.
01:05:04I didn't really think that I'd just won,
01:05:05I didn't really think that I was really happy,
01:05:08you know, because of what was ahead.
01:05:12Convincing yourself that now's the time,
01:05:15you have to spit it out.
01:05:34Well, it's a day we've all been looking forward to,
01:05:36the start of the festival,
01:05:38the biggest event of its type in the sport,
01:05:41with four days of the most brilliant racing in prospect.
01:05:44But there's going to be a strange feel about this year's festival
01:05:47because we know it's going to be the last time
01:05:49we're going to see AP, the champ, in action.
01:05:52There is nowhere, nowhere like Cheltenham.
01:05:55And as a jockey, you'll always have to be a bit nervous.
01:05:59You know, you've got to be a bit nervous
01:06:01but as a jockey, you'll always be judged
01:06:03on the amount of winners you rode there.
01:06:05There's been so much written, Tony, about this week,
01:06:07and you in particular, because it will be your final festival.
01:06:10Has that in any way affected your preparations or thinking?
01:06:14Not really, to be honest.
01:06:16I'm quite lucky that whenever I get out on a horse,
01:06:18then I'm pretty much on my own anyway,
01:06:21so I'm quite good at blanking it all out.
01:06:23But it will be a little different this year, obviously,
01:06:25because I know that this is the last chance, really,
01:06:28and it's going to be very different
01:06:30than it ever has been before, so I'm going to try and enjoy it.
01:06:33But like any sport, it's a lot easier to enjoy it
01:06:36when you're winning, so it's important to try and win.
01:06:39Tony, many, many thanks indeed.
01:06:40There we are, the great legendary Tony McCoy.
01:06:43He really is up there with some of the greatest sportsmen
01:06:45in the world, and, of course, all eyes will be on him
01:06:48at Cheltenham this week.
01:06:49And should he ride further winners here,
01:06:51it literally will bring the house down.
01:06:5712 o'clock on Tuesday in Cheltenham,
01:06:59especially for the first race, you'd hear a pin drop.
01:07:04But once it gets started and the first winner's in,
01:07:06it becomes business as usual again.
01:07:09And obviously the highs are higher and the lows are lower.
01:07:12It's high pressure, tense.
01:07:15It's what can define a year for everyone.
01:07:21A winner there means a hell of a lot.
01:07:23You have to be mentally tough going to Cheltenham,
01:07:27because however much success you have there,
01:07:30there's going to be more disappointments than there is delight.
01:07:34Pressure is slightly more on you for those four days,
01:07:37and it can be a very long week if things don't go your way.
01:07:42It can be the longest week of the year, I think.
01:07:45It becomes a real reality, and it could only happen here at Cheltenham.
01:07:48No other place in the world it brings those dreams to.
01:07:53For AP, he knows he ain't going to get another chance.
01:07:56This is it. And if he doesn't ride a winner here,
01:07:58he will never be able to go back there.
01:08:01And that will haunt.
01:08:08They're off.
01:08:10They race away, then, as they head down to the first of eight flights.
01:08:20...advising John, Shainshill is trying to battle on,
01:08:24but Duvan has taken it up as they race to the final flight.
01:08:27He's suddenly over, and he's getting away.
01:08:30Duvan's five lengths, too good. Duvan wins the Supreme.
01:08:35The shakes of the hands for Ruby Walsh, great start to the meeting
01:08:38for the festival's leading rider,
01:08:40and hot favourite to be the leading rider this week.
01:08:42Duvan, two-to-one favourite.
01:08:44Duvan wins the first race of the meeting.
01:08:48Bounty Guarantee is level.
01:08:49Peddler, AP, is in third place.
01:08:51Indian Castle in the black and grey colours showing in fourth,
01:08:55but they will never get to the Jewish Nephew and Bounty Guarantee in fourth.
01:09:01AP McCoy, the champion jockey on Jesky.
01:09:04Green and yellow hooks, white cap, the defending champion
01:09:07for Jacob McManus, whose birthday it is today.
01:09:10Ruby Walsh is in control at the moment.
01:09:12Jesky and AP McCoy tracking his old friend and rival on the inside.
01:09:16They were Sandhurst and Davis.
01:09:17But it's Fahed who's bound and clear up the hill,
01:09:20and he is a machine.
01:09:21Fahed maintains his unbeaten record,
01:09:23and it's a treble for Willie Bollins and Ruby Walsh.
01:09:26Fahed's a champion.
01:09:27Bounty Guarantee in second,
01:09:28and I reckon by third,
01:09:30it's in favour of Willie Bollins and Jesky, the new one.
01:09:33Do you know what's interesting in all of this?
01:09:35It's the first day of McCoy's final festival,
01:09:39and yet he's not even a supporting story so far.
01:09:46What you will notice in Chapman as a rider,
01:09:49more so than anywhere else, is the disappointment.
01:09:52To watch different guys sit by their pegs,
01:09:54staring into space, hide a sheet.
01:09:58It's a funny place.
01:10:00Hard place.
01:10:02You know, this is an emotional time for AP,
01:10:04and whatever anyone says,
01:10:05he's a very cool, calm, calculated character.
01:10:08But, you know, the time's running out
01:10:10for this wonderful place to be his centre stage.
01:10:12These are the smaller jumps, the hurdles.
01:10:15Mitch are in the black colours.
01:10:17...who's out very wide on the track.
01:10:19He's then being stalked by Livius, who's out wide.
01:10:22So too, Taglia Telli, as they go over the flight
01:10:24and toward the last of the circuit.
01:10:26And De Larca is down, and Condor Kemper was badly ampered,
01:10:29and Thibaut has been brought down.
01:10:30So De Larca fell when in a dispute of second.
01:10:33Goodwin-Mirage is now under a strong ride
01:10:36as they go over the second remote,
01:10:37which Goodwin-Mirage made a bad mistake.
01:10:39Down there was Shammock Boy, so they're making the turn.
01:10:42Savannah now has the...
01:10:43Petit-Swan just has the lead!
01:10:45Oh, my God!
01:10:47And the finish, but at the end,
01:10:49he's flattened out in another disappointing race
01:10:52for AP on day two of the festival.
01:10:55You know, I came into the week with a few chances.
01:10:57I knew it wasn't going to be easy,
01:10:59but you've just got to keep your head down and keep going,
01:11:01and hopefully it'll happen at some point.
01:11:03I'm not going to miss riding until the end of the season.
01:11:06I'm lucky that I can go out again the next race
01:11:08and have another go, so I'm just going to try and enjoy my job
01:11:11for what's left of it, anyway.
01:11:16And his valance this morning,
01:11:17we're telling us on the morning line,
01:11:19Chris Ward was saying that he's just been a little bit more subdued
01:11:21this week, very reflective as he is sort of trying to take it all in
01:11:24in his last festival in the way.
01:11:26It must be a very odd experience for him.
01:11:30Very melancholic this week.
01:11:33He hasn't had a winner.
01:11:34We've had two days gone,
01:11:36and I didn't realise, going into Cheltenham,
01:11:40how much of a challenge I was going to be in.
01:11:43I went into Cheltenham, how much he desperately wanted a winner.
01:11:48He said, I know I've got nothing to prove going into Cheltenham,
01:11:51but he said, this year, more than any year in Cheltenham,
01:11:55he said, I want a winner.
01:11:57I just want to walk into that winner's enclosure one more time,
01:12:00punch the air before I retire.
01:12:14CHELTENHAM GYM
01:12:26So, Swede, the top turn,
01:12:28and on towards the next, an open ditch, it's six hours,
01:12:31and here's the champion jockey,
01:12:33Anil Cizandre, who flies over there
01:12:35with a growing lead again from Hidden Cyclone.
01:12:39The pace looks really strong,
01:12:41and it must be questionable if Cizandre can keep this up.
01:12:44AP McCoy riding an aggressive race here at the corner jump,
01:12:48and Cizandre jumping like a bunny rabbit at the moment
01:12:51out in front with a clear lead
01:12:53over Hidden Cyclone and Don Cossack-Muffiel.
01:12:56So, can AP McCoy win here on his festival farewell in this ride?
01:13:02And Chase still going great gaps on Cizandre,
01:13:04but they're a long way still from the finish.
01:13:07Cizandre, can he try to just save a little bit
01:13:10as they reach the top of the hill?
01:13:12Three fences to jump in AP on Anil Cizandre,
01:13:16who heads down the hill.
01:13:18Still out in front, leading to Edouard in the red and yellow.
01:13:21Cizandre is over in front.
01:13:23Muffiel is still in there with a chance.
01:13:26They're followed by wonderful jump.
01:13:27Ali Casey is pulling up, heading round the final turn.
01:13:30John Spirit making round on the rail.
01:13:32Red with the black cat.
01:13:34Cizandre continues to lead.
01:13:36Muffiel now scattering after the leader from Hidden Cyclone.
01:13:40John Spirit, Edouard and Don Cossack.
01:13:42These are the ones that count as they race towards the second last.
01:13:46And Uzi Zandra is still out in front.
01:13:48Comes in as a absolutely superb Muffiel within two and a half legs.
01:13:53Then John Spirit and Edouard on the outside coming to the final fence.
01:13:57Can Uzi Zandra hold on for AP McCoy?
01:14:00Over safely, Muffiel hasn't given up the gallop.
01:14:03Now the race up the hill.
01:14:05Uzi Zandra went very far from the outset for Muffiel.
01:14:09He's holding on. He's keeping on going.
01:14:11Under the drive of a racing legend,
01:14:14AP McCoy on his festival farewell winsome ride here.
01:14:18What a tremendous example of motivation there.
01:14:22Horse and rider in perfect rhythm.
01:14:26Uzi Zandra attacking every fence.
01:14:29Aggressively ridden by the champ.
01:14:31That was a sight to see.
01:14:33It was almost like watching Vettore.
01:15:09MUSIC
01:15:35He's up at the park.
01:15:36Desert Prince.
01:15:37Desert Prince, you're right.
01:15:38Thank you.
01:15:39Desert Prince, I meant to say.
01:15:41Someone else is going to get the pleasure of riding him.
01:15:44He's a proper horse.
01:15:45He's nearly the model jumper like him, eh?
01:15:47You'd like to be sitting on him, wouldn't you?
01:15:49Yeah.
01:15:50I would like to be riding him.
01:15:52That's the hardest thing.
01:15:54Yeah.
01:15:55The right things are sometimes always the hardest.
01:15:57But you'd be doing the same thing next year
01:16:00or you'd be doing the same thing the year after.
01:16:03Yeah.
01:16:05Anyway.
01:16:06I think the timing is right.
01:16:08I don't think there's ever going to be a good time, so...
01:16:11Yeah.
01:16:12You're right.
01:16:16There's a few over on the other side.
01:16:18What's on the other side?
01:16:20Don't push it.
01:16:21It's the fella there that's trimmed.
01:16:24You saw the number he wore?
01:16:2514.
01:16:26Yeah.
01:16:27And shut the front door.
01:16:28You know what number he is, do you?
01:16:31Seven.
01:16:3287, isn't it?
01:16:33Fair.
01:16:35Shut the front door could do the same.
01:16:37It'd be all right.
01:16:38I didn't realise he was number seven.
01:16:40Number seven.
01:16:42And if he's six, it's the same as don't push it.
01:16:46Yeah.
01:16:47We could do it another one of them days.
01:16:49Yeah.
01:16:50On Saturday.
01:16:52I'm riding shut the front door in the Grand National.
01:16:55If he wins, that'll be the end, so...
01:16:57I'd be happy to give up after winning the Grand National.
01:17:00Well, I wouldn't be happy, but I...
01:17:02If you asked me at the moment, could I ride for another two weeks
01:17:05or could I win the Grand National, I'd have picked the Grand National.
01:17:08Actually, he ran in Sean Connery's colours, didn't he?
01:17:11That's right.
01:17:13What do you reckon, Horsey?
01:17:15Would I like retirement or not?
01:17:17I could be in a home.
01:17:19People coming to pat me.
01:17:21People coming to pat me and take me out for a walk.
01:17:27I'm not so sure.
01:17:31Here we are this evening going to be worshipping
01:17:34a true sporting legend.
01:17:38The final pen and it's Blakka Balanchi
01:17:41together with Don't Push It.
01:17:43Don't Push It landed in front for Tony McCoy.
01:17:45McCoy had a look round.
01:17:47He's never, ever won this race in his 15th career.
01:17:50He now only has to feel Blakka Balanchi...
01:17:52The last couple of days haven't been so good.
01:17:56I don't really want to give up.
01:17:58It's all come good for Tony McCoy.
01:18:01He hasn't lost once for Grand National.
01:18:05Yeah, I could keep going for another two or three years
01:18:08but always worried about people thinking I'm going on too long.
01:18:13...champion jockey, A.P. McCoy.
01:18:19Time waits for no man, especially not one in sport.
01:18:23I think it's important that I quit by the head.
01:18:27He's not the jockey of a generation,
01:18:30he's the jockey of generations.
01:18:32The key with A.P. McCoy's career is to take horse racing
01:18:37from the racing pages to the sports pages to the newspapers.
01:18:41A.P. McCoy, he's riding in his record 20th Grand National.
01:18:45Let's be perfectly honest, I think we'll all agree
01:18:47that he's the story everyone wants, isn't he?
01:18:49Yeah.
01:18:53I know the weekends are left.
01:18:57This weekend, the Inter-Grand National.
01:18:59The following weekend, sand down.
01:19:02The following weekend, I'll be in a home, probably,
01:19:05getting counselling from my addiction.
01:19:10Can't say I'm looking forward to it.
01:19:13McCoy has said, we know he's retiring this season,
01:19:15but he has said that if he wins the Grand National,
01:19:17he'd hop off, shut the front door,
01:19:19he'd pat him on the neck and he'd say,
01:19:21that's it, and he'd retire there and then.
01:19:23Proofer.
01:19:24And Ellie, good name, isn't it?
01:19:25Shut the front door.
01:19:26Yes.
01:19:27Shut the front door on your way out.
01:19:30I want to kind of feel like, oh,
01:19:31maybe I could justify riding for a bit longer.
01:19:35But, I mean, I dream a lot,
01:19:37but I'm not even sure I can dream that much of a dream.
01:19:40What A.P. does in the day-to-day, it's very dangerous.
01:19:43And he's broken, I think, manually every bone in his body.
01:19:47So, from a health and safety point of view, I'm delighted.
01:19:50That he is getting out and, you know,
01:19:52because every day he goes to work,
01:19:54he's got an ambulance following behind him too.
01:19:57Thank you.
01:20:09It's all going to be different.
01:20:13For the last 20-odd years,
01:20:15I have been obsessed with what I do.
01:20:21You know, I find myself in the way I'm looking down at lads
01:20:23that weren't born when I was champion jockey, you know?
01:20:32I always hoped that I'd never have to say those words,
01:20:36that I am retired.
01:20:39I kind of wish I'd kept quiet, but...
01:20:42..this was going to happen at some point.
01:20:45It's the last time!
01:20:46It's the last time!
01:20:50You know, so it's about how you deal with it
01:20:51and try and deal with it the best you can.
01:20:59I'd say it's the rest of my life,
01:21:01the first day of the end of my life,
01:21:02and then...
01:21:04..try and make the most of it.
01:21:06They're away for the 2015 Krabby's Grand National.
01:21:15St Arra amongst the leaders,
01:21:16Bob Ford towards the inside,
01:21:18followed by River Choice,
01:21:20and also up there is...
01:21:26..the ground for the first time,
01:21:27Bob Ford, a Gasline Boy,
01:21:28is a faller at the first.
01:21:36And there's some Oscar time,
01:21:38and then comes Royal Knight on Dula Tula's.
01:21:42The Rebel Rebellion out in front,
01:21:44the leader's going to go,
01:21:45and Balthasar kickers down,
01:21:46but they can't...
01:21:53..McCoy's had a lovely run round so far,
01:21:55green and yellow,
01:21:56looks quite kept,
01:21:57just to the left of your picture.
01:22:00Come on, come on!
01:22:03Come on, shut the front door!
01:22:05Shut the front door!
01:22:06Come on, honey!
01:22:08The Rainbow Hunter,
01:22:09Wyatt have shut the front door,
01:22:11still well in touch as they fear the water.
01:22:16How do people pass the day that don't have jobs?
01:22:20Shut the front door,
01:22:21it's absolutely cruising,
01:22:22great lead in four positions.
01:22:24I don't know how I'd pass every day.
01:22:26He's got every chance to make a living,
01:22:28it's the Dre's nephew,
01:22:29slithers to the ground and is out of the race.
01:22:32Definitely got a chance now.
01:22:37I am an addict to my way of life.
01:22:41I'm an addict to riding horses,
01:22:43I'm an addict to winning.
01:22:46Because it's like the drug.
01:22:51There's horses following around you.
01:22:53There's not much room,
01:22:54you don't get to see much.
01:22:58I suppose near the end,
01:22:59I suppose the adrenaline is in winning,
01:23:01that's what it's all about.
01:23:04It's all about winning.
01:23:15I don't think in 20 years I've ever been really content.
01:23:19I didn't feel that I was ever as good as I wanted to be.
01:23:23He's got a chance, he's got a chance, he's got a chance.
01:23:27I wish I hadn't been like that.
01:23:29He's definitely got a chance now,
01:23:31he's definitely got a chance now.
01:23:35It'd be great not to have a care in the world,
01:23:37not to worry about whether you're winning or not winning.
01:23:41It's not the end of the world.
01:23:46In a lot of ways it's not the end of the world.
01:23:50But it's the end of the world to me.
01:23:52It's the end of the world to me.
01:24:16I'm starting to get into my thick skull at a time.
01:24:23The end.
01:24:27It happens to everyone apparently.
01:24:32The end.
01:24:33The end.
01:24:50Hello, how are you?
01:24:55Hi there.
01:25:03Go, go, go!
01:25:17Good evening, how are you?
01:25:19I'm OK, thanks.
01:25:23OK.
01:25:29Right.
01:25:34Not a snooker.
01:25:36Got to get this one, yeah.
01:26:04I'm not talented enough to do any of them things there.
01:26:06It's much easier to get on the best horse to the best trainer
01:26:09and just go round in a circle and beat everyone else.
01:26:12What did your mum want you to be when you were little?
01:26:15Well, a lot of things.
01:26:17A priest was one of them, but I think she...
01:26:20I don't think so.
01:26:22Is this the time?
01:26:30Did you get yourself sorted?
01:26:32Yes.
01:26:34Didn't get to sleep.
01:26:35Didn't get to sleep.
01:26:52I have a picture for you.
01:26:57I'm a total control freak.
01:27:01Control is what makes you.
01:27:07You know, if you lose control, you lose everything, so...
01:27:12Every part of my life was structured and controlled, I thought.
01:27:17But...
01:27:19I could never control getting old, you know.
01:27:22That's what got the better of me in the end.
01:27:25It got the better of me in the end.
01:27:45He was...
01:27:48..obsessed about control.
01:27:51Control of everything in his life.
01:27:53You know the horses he was riding, the number of winners he was having, controlling his weight, controlling me, controlling our relationship.
01:28:06It was all about him.
01:28:11And he became a really selfish person.
01:28:19I think you have to be selfish. I think it has to be all about you.
01:28:23I don't want you to be embarrassed to say it, but no one else in the world was important.
01:28:54Here he is, ladies and gentlemen, the one and only A.P. McCoy!
01:29:02I think a lot of the time Chanel would think that I was a lot more interested in my career than I was in my relationship.
01:29:10In some ways she was right.
01:29:16Yeah, in some ways she was right, which is not a good thing, but luckily she stuck it out.
01:29:24I pinch myself every morning, I'm a very lucky person.
01:29:28She did, she stuck with it.
01:29:46It's what made me happy, it's what I wanted to do.
01:29:51Obviously there was times it drove me mad, but in a contradictory way it's what floored my boat.
01:30:00And the more you win, the more you want to win, the more the need becomes greed.
01:30:06I think you have to be like that.
01:30:20At least we don't enjoy watching this race, this is Danny's last race ever.
01:30:25Archie, you have no idea what's going on, have you?
01:30:28Yeah.
01:30:30He'll watch this when he's like 21.
01:30:34Let's remember that, a celebration of a great career, but we want the headlines, we want Box Office to give him the perfect send-off here in these sorts of championships.
01:30:45School, he's going to do the school run.
01:30:47Has anyone backed him, by the way?
01:30:50They jump away and there's a cheer from the grandstand, even though they're in the back straight.
01:30:55Raven Black, Box Office jumping, just in the midfield on the inside.
01:30:59Green, yellow hoops, Wycan.
01:31:06I remember coming home one evening and he was sitting there just sobbing, absolutely sobbing.
01:31:14Because he was so petrified that he wasn't going to be champion jockey the next year.
01:31:21It was like looking at somebody who was living in fear of themselves.
01:31:43I used to think the demons had Olympic games in my head sometimes.
01:31:47But at the same time, in a crazy, mad kind of way, it's obviously what made me happy.
01:31:55It's obviously what made me happy.
01:31:59Torturing myself.
01:32:02Trying to figure out why every time I went out on the horse I didn't win.
01:32:06I could never figure that out.
01:32:10Maybe I thought if I could work that out then I would have been content.
01:32:17Because it slowly started to register that maybe it wasn't possible after all.
01:32:27I mean, I wouldn't change it for the world.
01:32:30Because it's made him the person he is today.
01:32:35And it's made us the couple we are today.
01:32:47Go!
01:32:49Go!
01:32:51Go!
01:32:54Go!
01:32:56Go!
01:32:58Go!
01:33:00Go!
01:33:02Go!
01:33:04Go!
01:33:06Go!
01:33:08Go!
01:33:10Go!
01:33:12Go!
01:33:14Go!
01:33:16Go!
01:33:30Enjoy.
01:33:31Enjoy, you deserve everything.
01:33:33Dave Roberts, his agent, the man who's booked every one of his rides for 21 years, here in Great Britain.
01:33:40He's coming up the race course with him.
01:33:46That is the end, as I said, it's gone, you know, it's just, it's over.
01:34:15As a professional jockey, I am never going to ride the race again.
01:34:22I'm a has-been, I'm a retired sportsperson.
01:34:29I don't see it as a second life.
01:34:33I see it more as a first life, really.
01:34:39More of a dream than a life, really.
01:34:45But I just woke up.
01:34:50So I might have lived the dream, but I'm awake now.