Northern Ireland’s Tony McCoy became the first jump jockey to ride 4,000 winners on Thursday when he rode Mountain Tunes to victory at Towcester, central England.
McCoy, 18 times champion jockey of the United Kingdom, won in trademark fashion with a driving finish.
Mountain Tunes was still two lengths down come the final flight and stumbled on landing.
But McCoy ensured the horse soon regained momentum and, a length down with 100 yards left, he overhauled Jamie Moore on Kris Spin to win a novice hurdle race by half a length.
Victory was made all the sweeter for McCoy by the fact Mountain Tunes is owned by JP McManus and trained by Jonjo O’Neill, both of whom have provided the 39-year-old rider with a stream of winners throughout his career.
“It’s amazing, it couldn’t have worked out any better for Jonjo, JP. The McManuses have been so good to me, it was always going to be hopefully that I was going to ride it [the 4,000th winner] in JP’s colours,” McCoy said.
“My agent Dave Roberts’ dad passed away yesterday [Wednesday]. I’d like to dedicate that to him and I’m so pleased I did it for Jonjo and JP.”
No jockey in the history of British and Irish National Hunt (jump) racing has come close to McCoy’s career tally of victories, with nearest current challenger Richard Johnson some 1,500 wins adrift of his great rival.
“What he’s achieved has been amazing,” Johnson, the only other man to have ridden 2,500 National Hunt winners, said as he had paid tribute to McCoy.
“He has completely rewritten what we thought was achievable in a season, and a career.
“Whether it’s a Monday, a Saturday or a festival, he’s hungry and consistent every day. He is a machine who turns out winners.
“He seems to get it right all the time and is a great ambassador for our sport, a true professional sportsman.”
When Stan Mellor became the first jump jockey to ride 1,000 winners in 1971, his feat was considered astounding.
Yet Mellor’s record was subsequently broken by John Francome (1,138 wins), Peter Scudamore (1,678) and Richard Dunwoody (1,699).
But none has a record to compare to that of McCoy.
Although there are jockeys in other countries with more winners to their name, they tend to be flat-race specialists, whose careers are generally longer and who are at far less risk of injuring themselves through heavy falls than those who ride over fences.
