Sir Anthony Peter McCoy, who was awarded a knighthood in the 2016 New Year Honours in recognition of his services to horse racing, was a force majeure in British National Hunt Racing for two decades. Champion conditional jockey in 1994/95, McCoy went on to become senior champion jockey for the next 20 seasons running or, in other words, every year he rode as a professional. In 2001/02, while stable jockey to Martin Pipe, McCoy enjoyed his most successful season, numerically, with 289 winners, thereby beating the previous record for the number on winners ridden in a season, 269, set by Sir Gordon Richards in 1947.
At the time of his retirement, aged 40, in April, 2015, he had ridden a total of 4,348 winners under National Hunt Rules in Britain and Ireland, making him far and away the most successful jump jockey in history, 543 winners ahead of his nearest pursuer, Richard Johnson, who did not retire from the saddle until April, 2021. McCoy rode his first winner, of any description, Legal Steps, trained by Jim Bolger, in a maiden race at Thurles on March 26, 1992, as a 10lb claimer.
However, following his arrival in England, as conditional jockey to the Toby Balding, McCoy opened his account – deputising for the injured Mick Fitzgerald – on Chickabiddy, trained by Gordon Edwards, in a handicap hurdle at Exeter on September 7, 1994. Reflecting on his initial success on British soil, McCoy said, ‘I was very lucky that Gordon gave me the ride and she won to get the ball rolling.’ That she did, and the ball kept rolling until April 17, 2015, when McCoy partnered his last winner, Capard King, trained by Jonjo O’Neill, in a novices’ handicap hurdle at Ayr.