AP McCoy

[clarion]

I'm not a fan of horse racing.  I've offered my opinion before on the cruelty.

But I have to acknowledge the outstanding achievement of AP McCoy.  He's ridden 4,000 winners over the jumps.  I understand from the BBC that the next highest tally is somewhere around 2500.  He's managed an extraordinarily long career, and a very high success rate.

And, when he was interviewed on the radio, he wasn't an arrogant pillock like so many jockeys I've heard.  He was humble, thoughtful and witty.

An amazing sportsman.

[LEE]

I'm not a fan of horse racing.  I've offered my opinion before on the cruelty.

But I have to acknowledge the outstanding achievement of AP McCoy.  He's ridden 4,000 winners over the jumps.  I understand from the BBC that the next highest tally is somewhere around 2500.  He's managed an extraordinarily long career, and a very high success rate.

And, when he was interviewed on the radio, he wasn't an arrogant pillock like so many jockeys I've heard.  He was humble, thoughtful and witty.

An amazing sportsman.

Same here, never watch it and not inclined to ever watch it, but in a sport where an ambulance drives alongside the participants, it is quite an extraordinary achievement.

4,000 starts seems incredible to me, never mind wins.

Tip.  If you enter a pub in which Jockeys are drinking...leave immediately.  There WILL be a fight.

[tiermat]

Tip.  If you enter a pub in which Jockeys are drinking...leave immediately.  There WILL be a fight.

How will you know it's full of jockeys? Even though the pub is full you can still see the bar!

An amazing acheivement, indeed.  Having grown up surrounded by those in the race, I know how easily careers end (think that cyclists and fupballers have a tenuous grasp on their careers? Think again, it's nothing compared to jockeys).

FWIW I have found that the jockeys with lots and lots of wins are usually the easiest to talk to, those with a few wins under their belts are usually the arseholes.

[clarion]

Dettori has lots of wins.

[andrew_s]

Dettori has lots of wins.

Just over 2800 in the UK, plus others abroad.

Flat racing is different - there isn't the same degree of time out due to falling off, and I get the impression there are a lot more races to be had, especially the other side of the Atlantic.
The top flat jockeys are Jorge Ricardo (Brazil) and Russell Baze (Canada), both with over 12000 wins so far.

[ferret]

we've got horses here that have both won races being ridden by AP and Dettori not at the same time thobut ;0
Saucy Knight was ridden to a win at least once by AP and Miadanni ridden by Dettori, there's quite a bit about Saucy on the interweb if any ones interested,