Tony McCoy announces retirement

19 times national hunt champion jockey shocked the racing world today when he announced he will be retiring from riding at the end of the season. He announced his plans to retire after winning his 200th race of the season on board Mr Mole in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury.

McCoy said on Channel 4 Racing that ""I want to go while I'm still enjoying racing and while I am still near the top

"I'm very lucky to have had a life in horse racing over the last 25 years. I wanted to retire as a champion and 20 would be a nice number to finish at."

He has won more than 4000 races and his big races wins include the Cheltenham Gold Cup on board Mr Mulligan in 1997 and Synchronised in 2012 and the Grand National on Don't Push It in 2010.

The word great has unfortunately become so over used that its lost virtually all meaning but when used in reference to Anthony Peter McCoy it becomes almost non complimentary.For those of us who have been lucky enough to see this racing leviathan transcend his sport yesterdays out of the blue announcement whilst coming as a jolt to the system on one hand didn't come as a total surprise on the other.Time stands still for no man and there is only so much that a body can take irrespective of how well honed it is,you don't heal as a forty year old as you would as a twenty year old.He didnt commit the cardinal sin and hang on too long,letting people say that "he'd lost it",he went when still at the top and still the best.Catterick on a miserable Monday to Aintree on a sunny Saturday,a class 5 novice hurdle to the Grand National,they all came alike and there in lies the reason as to why AP was a break in the normal mould.He would approach these chalk and cheese events with the same single bloody mindedness,with the same appetite to win.Never in the sport of NH racing,to my mind at any rate,has another jockey even come close to matching AP's desire for success and to be honest I don't think anyone else ever will.He isn't everyones idea of a stylist a la David Mould ,he isn't the personality of a Frankie Dettori or the happy go lucky,live for today and sod tomorrow cavalier like Francome but he has his own way of doing it,of being effective,of being efficient and 4000+ winners tells us all we need to know.Quite simply he is the best NH jockey there has and will ever be and those of us who have seen him should feel honoured.

AP McCoy a racing great.