AP McCoy, who has been champion jockey for the last 19 years, has announced he is to retire from horseracing at the end of the season. Shortly after riding his 200th winner of the season at Newbury today, AP confirmed that he will be hanging up his boots before the end of April. True to form, he wants to bow out on a winner, but not before he has secured his 20th consecutive Champion jockey’s title.
“This is without a doubt, the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make”, says AP. “I’ve been dreading this day, and if I’m honest, I still can’t quite imagine a life without racing. However, I know it’s the right time to end a career I’ve loved, every single day. Even when I’ve fallen and been injured, I’ve been desperate to get back and achieve my goals, achieve the dream I realised when I was a boy but I’m now ready to retire. I want to finish my career as Champion Jockey, and I want to finish on a win. I don’t know when that will be exactly, but 20 Championship titles is a nice even number. But, I’m not done just yet – I’ve got the Cheltenham Festival to focus on now and I’ll take it from there. There have been a lot of people who have helped me throughout my whole career who I want to thank. I will be forever indebted to them, they have helped make all my dreams come true.”