There is no place for arrogance or complacency in racing because you are up there one minute and on your backside the next. Tony McCoy More Quotes by Tony McCoy More Quotes From Tony McCoy Sir Gordon Richards was the most successful jockey - flat or jumps - there's ever been: champion jockey for 26 years. He set a record of 269 winners in the season 55 years before I broke it. That was my greatest achievement. Tony McCoy winners champion achievement years It's not hard to motivate myself because once you get a taste for winning races, you simply don't want to do anything else. You get a buzz from it. You want it every day. Only someone who has experienced winning can understand how good it feels. Tony McCoy day good myself you Essentially, I am a dreamer. I've dreamed all my life. When I started, I dreamed I'd be Champion because it is a sport that is all about the people who win the most, and I have a fear of not winning. Tony McCoy i-am my-life fear life You don't have to be Einstein to see that horse racing is dangerous. Those two ambulances driving behind you aren't there for the scenery. I will never get over the fatalities of colleagues. It is the saddest and toughest part of this sport. Tony McCoy you colleagues scenery horse A lot of healing is in the mind. I'm not talking about serious illnesses like cancer. I'm talking about ordinary broken bones. Healing begins in the head. You have to convince yourself you can do it. Tony McCoy yourself you broken mind Private dreams are the most powerful. You have to dream of success to make it happen, and if you don't believe in yourself, nobody else will. But that doesn't mean you have to go around telling everyone about it. Tony McCoy dreams believe-in-yourself success A helmet is the most important part of any jockey's kit because of the number of falls you take, so I wouldn't want to be wearing anything on the track unless it had been thoroughly tested. Tony McCoy you helmet important want If summer racing didn't exist, I could go on holiday, yes, because nobody else would then be riding winners; but as long it goes ahead, I'll do it for the reason that I want to ride more winners than anyone else. Tony McCoy ride riding holiday long I am quite hard to live with, and I know that if I go through a bad run, I'm not the best company and am best left alone. But I'm not nearly as bad as people like to make out. Tony McCoy i-am alone best people In my opinion, the power of the mind in sport is vital. If you can overpower those physical risks mentally, you can get your body round it physically. I've made my body do things because of my mind that it shouldn't have been able to do. Tony McCoy you opinion power mind I dream up things, and then I convince myself that they're possible. Tony McCoy possible things myself dream Racing may be a minority sport, but I wouldn't swap it for all the money in the world. Tony McCoy minority racing money world I've always got a sweet tooth. I have chocolate hidden in places that nobody knows about. Tony McCoy nobody always chocolate sweet I'm very lucky to live my life through a sport that I love. I'm in a very privileged position that my work is my hobby. Tony McCoy my-life work love life Most days, I have a slice of toast, then lie in a hot bath for an hour to get up a sweat. I have a sauna at the racecourse and then go and ride. On the way home, I might stop at a service station and have a bar of chocolate and a Diet Coke. And that's it, basically. Tony McCoy ride service hot home During every race, an ambulance trails the riders around the course. You know that sometimes you are going to end up in the back of that ambulance. Tony McCoy end know you sometimes When you give someone a commitment to ride their horse, you do it - unless, God forbid, something serious has happened. It would be laziness not to do it. Tony McCoy ride you horse god I've been on some very good horses which have died, and that's very tough to take. But as much as we love the horses, and care for them, human life is obviously more important. Some good friends of mine have died or been paralysed while doing a job we all love. Tony McCoy good friends love life If you break your sternum or your ribs, you can still move. It's going to hurt, but if you can cope with it, you'll do it. Tony McCoy your you break hurt You only worry about your head or spinal column. Everything else, some way or another, will repair in time. Tony McCoy will you time way
