The Grand National is probably the one race in the calendar which appears in the national consciousness, almost universally recognised outside the tightly knit world of racing.
It may be a quirky race, over an extreme distance and over somewhat unusual obstacles but, like it or not, it is horse racings shop window.
It is the one race non-racing followers talk about. It is the race inn which the once a year punters will have their £1 e/w bets. The form book goes out of the window and people choose horses for the strangest of reasons.
One hack in the press room at Lingfield on Saturday reported his wife had backed Don’t Push It because that is what she frequently says to him when they have a disagreement. He also went on to add “I won’t tell you why he also backed Big Fella Thanks.”
Whatever the reason for backing a horse it is racings big day.
The National is a race which invariably has a human touch story associated with the winner. Be it Red Rum’s three wins, including the heartbreaking clash with Crisp. Aldaniti with the horse recovering from injury and, of course, John Champion winning his battle with cancer and in the process making testicular cancer an issue which could be discussed openly. Indeed how many mens lives have been saved by Champion’s win?
Then we had Jenny Pitman becoming the first and, and until last year, the only woman to train the winner of the National.
The 2010 renewal had plenty of opportunity for “good stories” as well.
Dream Alliance, winner of the Welsh National, owned by members of a working mens club and raised on an allotment – already the potential subject of a film.
Sam Twiston-Davies, son of trainer Nigel, riding in his first national at the tender age of 17.
Barry Geraghty suddenly getting the leg-up on the favourite Big Fella Thanks when, just over an hour before the off Ruby Walsh demonstrated just how precarious the life of a jump jockey is as he was trampled, breaking his arm in the process. Or Richard Johnson, who picked up a “spare” rides as the result of Walsh’s injury.
And so on and so on.
However, discussing potential big stories before the race, there were two which really stood out.
The really big story, the one which would even have knocked the election off the front pages, would have been if Nina Carberry had become the first woman to win the big race. She was not without a chance on Character Building and, with respect to all the female riders who have gone before her in the National, she would have been a most worthy to become the first female winner. She has proved again and again that she is able to compete with the boys.
The other big story would have been AP McCoy winning the contest at the 15th attempt, the one race he really wanted to win above all others, the one that had eluded him. He has managed third place no less than three times.
It is a race in which McCoy seemed to be jinxed. In 2005 on Clan Royal, having overcome a slipped saddle he was six lengths clear approaching Bechers for the second time, seemingly having the race at his mercy, only to be carried out by a loose horse.
Before this years race McCoy actually pointed out, with seeming resignation, that he would feel his CV would not be complete if he did not win the Grand National, despite having been champion jockey for an unprecedented fourteen years.
Well, unless you have been on a desert island for the past 24 hours, you will now know McCoy has finally broken his hoodoo, the monkey is off his back or you can apply any other clich̩ you like Рbut shout it from the rooftops, Tony McCoy has finally won a National.
For all his great riding prowess, one criticism frequently aimed at McCoy is he shows little emotion. That was something else firmly laid to rest yesterday.
His relief and, yes, joy was palpable. His celebrations came from the heart, a release of fifteen years of pent up emotions.
He even cried.
"I'm being a big wuss. It means everything to me to win the Grand National," he said.
"I've won lots of big races and I'm supposed to be a good jockey, but to not win the Grand National would be a bit of a negative on the CV.
"I always thought I would win as I always believe that everything will happen.
"I have managed to win a few other races but not a Grand National.
"Everyone on the street knows the National as it is a people's race and from a jockey's perspective that is why it is important.
"After a mile I wouldn't have swapped him for anything else, and I don't just mean horses, as he had totally taken to it.
"I'm delighted for my mum and dad as they've been great for me throughout the years, and for my wife, Chanelle, and my daughter, Eve, who is two and a half.
"Hopefully now she'll be proud of me when she grows up.”
McCoy showed his detractors what those who do know him already knew, namely he is human and a very decent human being as well.
On top of the sheer delight of seeing McCoy win, I also take a perverse delight at the damage he inflicted on the bookmakers. Available at 20/1 on Saturday morning, McCoy’s mount was backed into 10/1 during the day, taking millions out of the bookmakers satchels – some “revenge” for the carnage inflicted on the punters at Cheltenham and the first two days of Aintree.
Lest anyone thinks my eulogising of McCoy’s win is tainted by pocket talking let me say his victory actually cost me money.
Because of his record in the race I did not back him, my money was on the runner-up, so his win cost me money – but you know what? I don’t care, seeing the sheer delight of Anthony Peter McCoy made the loss insignificant.
Unless they have hearts of stone, there cannot be a single person who follows National Hunt racing, a single person in the massive Aintree crowd or a single person watching at home who would begrudge McCoy his victory yesterday or failed to have been moved by his reaction.
McCoy smiled and everyone smiled with him.
For the first time racings showpiece was broadcast in HD. Coincidentally this week I also bought a new large screen HD television.
I was watching the all-weather fare at Lingfield on Saturday afternoon, so ended up watching the National on the television in the press room.
It was a good race to watch and the BBC commentary was good. Jim McGrath, who frankly had a mare on the first two days, rose to the occasion and both Ian Bartlett and Darren Owen were excellent.
However when I got home on Saturday evening I watched the HD recording of the race – well what can I say, it was exceptional. The detail was superb. You could almost reach out and touch the horses, it was just like being there. On the close-up shots you could see the details of the horses muscles, you could see the muscles ripple as they moved.
Showing posts with label Tony McCoy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tony McCoy. Show all posts
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Greatest Jockey
Watching the HD coverage really was the icing on what was already a very well baked cake.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Tony McCoy - Greatest Jockey
When Peter Scudamore became the first National Hunt jockey to ride 1,000 winners in his career, those ”in the know” said it would be a one-off, never to be repeated.
Now Anthony Patrick McCoy rides his 3,000th winner and I wonder what those sages are thinking now?
As TV pundit John McCririck said after McCoy passed this latest landmark, "I always call John Francome the greatest jockey but I have some doubt in my mind now!"
There is no doubt at all in my mind that AP McCoy is the greatest National Hunt jockey in the history of the sport.
He is also the most driven jockey in the weighing room, he has a ruthless streak on the track but away from the pressure cooker he is one of the nicest guys in racing.
He will try just as hard whether it is the Gold Cup at Cheltenham or a low grade maiden on a wet Wednesday afternoon at a gaff track.
Usually stony faced when riding, he has a great sense of humour away from the public gaze.
To put his achievement into some sort of perspective, let us take a look at the next four in the rankings:-
Richard Johnson 1,862
Richard Dunwoody 1,699
Peter Scudamore 1,678
Mick Fitzgerald 1,295
In any other era, Richard Johnson would be the top jockey in his own right, but against McCoy he is in the shadow of the great one.
He has been tearing up the record books throughout his career.
McCoys achievements are legendry, the landmarks of 500, 1,000 & 1,500 winners were all achieved in record time. He set a record of most winners in a season with 289 in 2001/2. (Incidentally the most winners in a season in either code)
He rode his first winner in 1994 and a year later he was Conditional Jockey of the year, the following year he was champion jockey – and has been ever since. Every season since, apart from his first, he has ridden in excess of 100 winners, in six of then 200 plus.
He has won every major National Hunt race, apart from the Grand National.
The other thing to bear in mind when considering his achievements is McCoy is 5’ 10½” tall and his minimum weight is 10 stone 3 lbs.
What next?
Well McCoy is 35 this year and jump jockeys do not have careers as long as their flat counterparts, who frequently race until well into their 50’s.
Bookmakers are going 5/1 against him reaching 4,000 winners. He took five years to ride his first 1,000.
4,000 at 40 has a certain symmetry about it, doesn’t it?
Meanwhile let us just hail, and rightly applaud, THE greatest jockey.
Well done AP.
Now Anthony Patrick McCoy rides his 3,000th winner and I wonder what those sages are thinking now?
As TV pundit John McCririck said after McCoy passed this latest landmark, "I always call John Francome the greatest jockey but I have some doubt in my mind now!"
There is no doubt at all in my mind that AP McCoy is the greatest National Hunt jockey in the history of the sport.
He is also the most driven jockey in the weighing room, he has a ruthless streak on the track but away from the pressure cooker he is one of the nicest guys in racing.
He will try just as hard whether it is the Gold Cup at Cheltenham or a low grade maiden on a wet Wednesday afternoon at a gaff track.
Usually stony faced when riding, he has a great sense of humour away from the public gaze.
To put his achievement into some sort of perspective, let us take a look at the next four in the rankings:-
Richard Johnson 1,862
Richard Dunwoody 1,699
Peter Scudamore 1,678
Mick Fitzgerald 1,295
In any other era, Richard Johnson would be the top jockey in his own right, but against McCoy he is in the shadow of the great one.
He has been tearing up the record books throughout his career.
McCoys achievements are legendry, the landmarks of 500, 1,000 & 1,500 winners were all achieved in record time. He set a record of most winners in a season with 289 in 2001/2. (Incidentally the most winners in a season in either code)
He rode his first winner in 1994 and a year later he was Conditional Jockey of the year, the following year he was champion jockey – and has been ever since. Every season since, apart from his first, he has ridden in excess of 100 winners, in six of then 200 plus.
He has won every major National Hunt race, apart from the Grand National.
The other thing to bear in mind when considering his achievements is McCoy is 5’ 10½” tall and his minimum weight is 10 stone 3 lbs.
What next?
Well McCoy is 35 this year and jump jockeys do not have careers as long as their flat counterparts, who frequently race until well into their 50’s.
Bookmakers are going 5/1 against him reaching 4,000 winners. He took five years to ride his first 1,000.
4,000 at 40 has a certain symmetry about it, doesn’t it?
Meanwhile let us just hail, and rightly applaud, THE greatest jockey.
Well done AP.
Monday, 8 December 2008
Cheers And Tears
Balance is the essence of the universe. The Chinese call it Ying and Yang. Without balance nothing exists.
In life it is generally only the very young do not have an awareness that life is an emotional rollercoaster. If a child has been fortunate enough to have had a stress free childhood, then as soon as the teenage hormones begin flowing they will soon realise life is an emotional roller coaster and, unlike at Alton Towers, it is a ride that never stops.
Racing is, of course, no different. One moment there can be adrenalin induced highs resulting is resounding cheers, the next that gut wrenching feeling you have in the pit of your stomach when something goes seriously awry and the tears begin flowing.
Saturday’s racing at Sandown Park was one of those days when both sets of emotions came to the fore.
The cheers came for two horses, one giving the first indication of his potential, the other underlining the potential he showed last year.
In the Henry VIII Chase all Free World had to do was turn up and the race was his – well that is what most thought.
Trained by champion trainer Paul Nicholls and ridden by the champion jockey AP McCoy. The only conceivable danger could have come from Alan King's Araldur, ridden by Robert Thornton.
As they came to the last the pair were well clear of their rivals and Free World seemed to have the edge over his rival.
Then it happened, Thornton actually managed to out-McCoy McCoy.
Ask any jump jockey what they fear most in a race and they will probably respond 'McCoy in a driving finish'. He is not the greatest jump jockey ever for nothing and his ability to ride a well timed, powerful, finish is second to none.
Yet, here at Sandown, in one of the toughest and unforgiving finishing straights in the country Robert Thornton was doing to McCoy what McCoy has done to so many of his rivals. He was outriding him.
In one of the best riding displays seen in a long time Thornton, metaphorically, carried his mount over the line to beat the odds-on favourite and champion jockey by a neck.
AP had been well and truly McCoyed.
The excitement was accentuated by the roar of the Sandown crowd. It is said to be impossible to beat the roar of the Cheltenham crowd, but from my vantage point high up in the Esher grandstand, I think the Surrey crowd gave the Gloucestershire / Irish mob a good run for their money.
Barely 35 minutes later the big race, the Tingle Creek, was underway. Usually a very competitive affair this year the star attraction was Master Minded. Another Paul Nichols charge – the one who left racegoers open mouthed in awe at his 19 length win in Cheltenham’s Queen Mother Champion Chase last March.
His only serious rival was Howard Johnson’s Tiday Bay and possibly his stablemate, last years winner, Twist Magic.
Yet it was neither of these who turned out to be his greatest threat. An obscure German raider called Fiepes Shuffle turned out to be the greatest danger.
The raider fell at the first fence but was soon on his feet and the loose horse decided to keep the front running Master Minded company as they turned out of the home straight.
AP McCoy, probably still stinging from his previous race defeat, was Master Minded’s controversial jockey at Sandown and I’m sure he, like many of us viewing from the stands, must have had flash backs to Clan Royal being taken out by a loose horse in the 2005 Grand National.
Eventually this loose horse decided to take the hurdle course and Master Minded was left to give a master class in a contest that was anything but a race.
Of his rivals Tidal Bay just wasn’t at the races and his stablemate fell at the second last when in second place but never likely to challenge the leader.
Again the Sandown roar did its utmost to lift the roof off the stand. This time in admiration of a class horse rather than a thrilling contest but the roar was just as heartfelt.
So we had the Ying aplenty, from two horses. One already an established star the other showing great potential. All being well Master Minded and Araldur are two names that will be discussed in years to come.
Now where there is the Ying there is also the Yang.
The Yang at Sandown came in the last race, the inaugural running of the London National.
Blue Splash will not be a horse familiar to most racegoers, trained by Peter Bowen his form figures coming into Saturday’s race were run 17, won 4, placed twice.
Nobody knew it when the runners set of at 3:35 but this was to be Blue Splash’s last race. His ending provided more than enough Yang to balance out the earlier Ying and it was to produce enough tears to balance out the earlier cheers.
Blue Splash was pulled up by Seamus Durack after the final fence on the first circuit. Durack quickly dismounted and started leading the horse back to the stables. Initially he looked sound and was walking back OK but slowly.
It was when he was walking past the stands that I saw out of the corner of my eye that he seemed to have "gone wrong" behind - it's strange how you suddenly notice these things, even when not actually consciously watching.
When I next looked a few second later Durack was removing the saddle and at the same time Blue Splash started showing the "classic" signs of a horse having a heart attack.
Unfortunately he collapsed right in front of the packed enclosure, no more than five or six feet from the rail.
In terms of getting to the horse it happened in the worse possible place - the vet was with him very quickly but she could do nothing to help alleviate the horses suffering until the screens arrived. Unfortunately it was the most inaccessible place for the following vehicles to get to and it seemed an eternity before the truck with the screens arrived.
The screens that could allow the horse some privacy and dignity in his final moments.
In a perverse way it was a blessing it happened so close to the rail as most racegoers would not have seen too much of what was unfolding on the course - although for those by the rail it must have been terrible and there were families down there too.
It was distressing seeing the horses life coming to an end so publicly and I am not ashamed to admit I had tears rolling down my cheek at what was unfolding before me.
One couldn’t help thinking what must have been going through the horses mind at this time – do they have any concept of what is happening to them? I hope not.
The incident also brings home the danger of the sport we follow so closely. How the competitors, occasionally human, more frequently equine, sometimes pay the ultimate price.
Although it was not pleasant to view, I can also see some positives from what happened so publicly on Saturday. It will remind some racegoers who forget (or choose to ignore), in particular those morons who cheer when a horse falls, that the sport is fraught with dangers and our enjoyment comes at a price.
The horses are not just objects provided for our entertainment, they are living creatures. They are generally loved and very well cared for, none more so than by the lad or lass who looks after them every day.
One scene that always upsets me at a racecourse is a lad or lass walking down the course, nearly always in floods of tears, carrying the tack of a horse of theirs who will not be returning home.
By all means cheer at the Ying but please never forget the Yang.
RIP Blue Splash born 23rd April 2000 died 6th December 2008
In life it is generally only the very young do not have an awareness that life is an emotional rollercoaster. If a child has been fortunate enough to have had a stress free childhood, then as soon as the teenage hormones begin flowing they will soon realise life is an emotional roller coaster and, unlike at Alton Towers, it is a ride that never stops.
Racing is, of course, no different. One moment there can be adrenalin induced highs resulting is resounding cheers, the next that gut wrenching feeling you have in the pit of your stomach when something goes seriously awry and the tears begin flowing.
Saturday’s racing at Sandown Park was one of those days when both sets of emotions came to the fore.
The cheers came for two horses, one giving the first indication of his potential, the other underlining the potential he showed last year.
In the Henry VIII Chase all Free World had to do was turn up and the race was his – well that is what most thought.
Trained by champion trainer Paul Nicholls and ridden by the champion jockey AP McCoy. The only conceivable danger could have come from Alan King's Araldur, ridden by Robert Thornton.
As they came to the last the pair were well clear of their rivals and Free World seemed to have the edge over his rival.
Then it happened, Thornton actually managed to out-McCoy McCoy.
Ask any jump jockey what they fear most in a race and they will probably respond 'McCoy in a driving finish'. He is not the greatest jump jockey ever for nothing and his ability to ride a well timed, powerful, finish is second to none.
Yet, here at Sandown, in one of the toughest and unforgiving finishing straights in the country Robert Thornton was doing to McCoy what McCoy has done to so many of his rivals. He was outriding him.
In one of the best riding displays seen in a long time Thornton, metaphorically, carried his mount over the line to beat the odds-on favourite and champion jockey by a neck.
AP had been well and truly McCoyed.
The excitement was accentuated by the roar of the Sandown crowd. It is said to be impossible to beat the roar of the Cheltenham crowd, but from my vantage point high up in the Esher grandstand, I think the Surrey crowd gave the Gloucestershire / Irish mob a good run for their money.
Barely 35 minutes later the big race, the Tingle Creek, was underway. Usually a very competitive affair this year the star attraction was Master Minded. Another Paul Nichols charge – the one who left racegoers open mouthed in awe at his 19 length win in Cheltenham’s Queen Mother Champion Chase last March.
His only serious rival was Howard Johnson’s Tiday Bay and possibly his stablemate, last years winner, Twist Magic.
Yet it was neither of these who turned out to be his greatest threat. An obscure German raider called Fiepes Shuffle turned out to be the greatest danger.
The raider fell at the first fence but was soon on his feet and the loose horse decided to keep the front running Master Minded company as they turned out of the home straight.
AP McCoy, probably still stinging from his previous race defeat, was Master Minded’s controversial jockey at Sandown and I’m sure he, like many of us viewing from the stands, must have had flash backs to Clan Royal being taken out by a loose horse in the 2005 Grand National.
Eventually this loose horse decided to take the hurdle course and Master Minded was left to give a master class in a contest that was anything but a race.
Of his rivals Tidal Bay just wasn’t at the races and his stablemate fell at the second last when in second place but never likely to challenge the leader.
Again the Sandown roar did its utmost to lift the roof off the stand. This time in admiration of a class horse rather than a thrilling contest but the roar was just as heartfelt.
So we had the Ying aplenty, from two horses. One already an established star the other showing great potential. All being well Master Minded and Araldur are two names that will be discussed in years to come.
Now where there is the Ying there is also the Yang.
The Yang at Sandown came in the last race, the inaugural running of the London National.
Blue Splash will not be a horse familiar to most racegoers, trained by Peter Bowen his form figures coming into Saturday’s race were run 17, won 4, placed twice.
Nobody knew it when the runners set of at 3:35 but this was to be Blue Splash’s last race. His ending provided more than enough Yang to balance out the earlier Ying and it was to produce enough tears to balance out the earlier cheers.
Blue Splash was pulled up by Seamus Durack after the final fence on the first circuit. Durack quickly dismounted and started leading the horse back to the stables. Initially he looked sound and was walking back OK but slowly.
It was when he was walking past the stands that I saw out of the corner of my eye that he seemed to have "gone wrong" behind - it's strange how you suddenly notice these things, even when not actually consciously watching.
When I next looked a few second later Durack was removing the saddle and at the same time Blue Splash started showing the "classic" signs of a horse having a heart attack.
Unfortunately he collapsed right in front of the packed enclosure, no more than five or six feet from the rail.
In terms of getting to the horse it happened in the worse possible place - the vet was with him very quickly but she could do nothing to help alleviate the horses suffering until the screens arrived. Unfortunately it was the most inaccessible place for the following vehicles to get to and it seemed an eternity before the truck with the screens arrived.
The screens that could allow the horse some privacy and dignity in his final moments.
In a perverse way it was a blessing it happened so close to the rail as most racegoers would not have seen too much of what was unfolding on the course - although for those by the rail it must have been terrible and there were families down there too.
It was distressing seeing the horses life coming to an end so publicly and I am not ashamed to admit I had tears rolling down my cheek at what was unfolding before me.
One couldn’t help thinking what must have been going through the horses mind at this time – do they have any concept of what is happening to them? I hope not.
The incident also brings home the danger of the sport we follow so closely. How the competitors, occasionally human, more frequently equine, sometimes pay the ultimate price.
Although it was not pleasant to view, I can also see some positives from what happened so publicly on Saturday. It will remind some racegoers who forget (or choose to ignore), in particular those morons who cheer when a horse falls, that the sport is fraught with dangers and our enjoyment comes at a price.
The horses are not just objects provided for our entertainment, they are living creatures. They are generally loved and very well cared for, none more so than by the lad or lass who looks after them every day.
One scene that always upsets me at a racecourse is a lad or lass walking down the course, nearly always in floods of tears, carrying the tack of a horse of theirs who will not be returning home.
By all means cheer at the Ying but please never forget the Yang.
RIP Blue Splash born 23rd April 2000 died 6th December 2008
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