Thursday 12 February 2015 22:34, UK
I don't ever remember Jeff Stelling interrupting Soccer Saturday to break sports news not relating to football. He did so on Saturday. That shows the stature of AP McCoy.
He's not just a racing great, he's a sporting great. One of the best sportsmen this country has ever produced. It's been wonderful to see racing on the main news bulletins, the front pages of the newspapers and some of the tributes have been fantastic.
The grace and humility with which he has accepted those accolades best sums up McCoy. Brilliant yet humble. I can't match those wordsmiths but I would like to reminisce about the 'champ'.
Next season it's going to be mighty strange without him. Make no mistake AP is going to struggle when he's not going racing every day. He's addicted to winners. For all his charm, he can still be a champion in the grumpy stakes too and he's going to find it very hard without that daily buzz. The great thing is that he has chosen the time to call it a day rather than having retirement forced upon him.
What will he do next? I hope he goes into the media. The best pundits are the ones who can tell you something different. A unique insight from which the viewer learns something new. AP is in 'position A' to do that.
Presenters will have a field day picking his mind and his brain about races and tactics. Viewers and punters will also finally get to see that he has a great sense of humour. I hate to say it but McCoy can be incredibly funny - and cutting.
A lot has been made of the way he has changed since the days when the mist descended. Most infamously when losing Valiramix in the Champion Hurdle. The days when he'd lock himself in a dark room and beat himself up when races didn't go his way.
People say he's changed. Inside I don't think he's changed one bit. The competitive fire has raged inside him throughout. The will to win has never dimmed. He's just got better at disguising it. Better at dealing with adversity. Cuter at dealing with the public and media. His family and two children have mellowed him away from racing, while his awareness of how the public have warmed to him has changed the way he's dealt with them.
You will never see him turn down a selfie or autograph as he rightly says that the attention won't last forever and he dreads the day when he's not in demand. In my nine years on Sky Sports News, McCoy never once turned down an interview. He would always find time.
To a topic much discussed this week: McCoy's greatest rides. The man himself often says the ride he gave Pridwell to beat Istabraq in the 1998 Aintree Hurdle was his best ever. Don't Push It meant the most to him as he finally won the Grand National at the 15th attempt - the party that followed a few weeks later summed up his generosity!
The ride he gave Synchronised to win the Gold Cup encapsulated his bravery. That horse would not have won had he not been thrown at the last two fences. Synchronised matching the bravery from the saddle was a potent combination and enough to win sport's blue riband.
However, for me the best of the lot was Wichita Lineman. A ride that summed up McCoy's determination, skill and never-say-die attitude.
You watch that race back and still wonder how on earth he got up to win. It was so exciting that my chemotherapy drip fell out as I rode the finish in my bed in Southampton General Hospital. Not a pretty sight. I apologise to all the patients in the cancer unit for the ban on televisions in the ward that ensued. Blame McCoy.
The previous month McCoy had donated all the proceeds from the day he rode his 3,000th winner at Plumpton to my cancer fund. Class.
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher often talk on Monday Night Football about how you need a bit of devilment in you to be a 'winner' or be a rascal rather than a son-in-law as Graeme Souness likes to say. Normally the good guys don't win. AP McCoy has won 19 titles in the toughest of sports whilst being a thoroughly decent human being. That for me is his greatest achievement.
I wrote last week that McCoy's top-class rides, at what will now be his final Cheltenham Festival, were looking a little thin on the ground. That situation improved over the weekend.
First, his 200th winner of the season came via a remarkable performance from Mr Mole. With the attention taken by his pilot's retirement and Sire de Grugy's mishap, Mr Mole hasn't got the credit he deserves. It was a stunning performance after he looked to have blown his chance at the start.
At the start of the race and the start of the season if you'd said this horse would develop in to a Champion Chase contender I'd have said you needed your head read. I'd be amazed if Sprinter Sacre or Sire de Grugy were able to regain/retain their crown. The race is crying out for an improver to progress past the old guard. All of a sudden it looks like that could be Mr Mole.
What a reception AP received after winning his first Irish Hennessy as another possible Gold Cup ride and contender emerged in the shape of Carlingford Lough. He faces a tricky decision for what will be his last Gold Cup ride if Holywell bounces back at Kelso on Thursday.
He won't have given up on Alvisio Ville either after finishing third in a red-hot Deloitte. Alvisio Ville works much better than Nichols Canyon at home but it was the latter who produced the goods on the racecourse this time. Alvisio Ville will be top class - Cheltenham 2015 just might come too soon in his career.
Graham Wylie has likened Nichols Canyon to one of my all-time favourites, Inglis Drever. He will be hard to get past in whatever race he runs in at Cheltenham. For my money the Deloitte was by far the best novice hurdle that's been run this season and the first three could all be very good.
Saturday at Ascot is a make-or-break day for my ante-post portfolio. Hopes are high that Ma Filleule can run a nice race in the Ascot Chase after a long absence and Kilcrea Vale can make a big impression in the opener. If not, I might be a champion myself in the grumpy stakes.
Cheltenham ante-post portfolio: Boston Bob, Hargam, Gilgamboa, Ma Filleule, Kilcrea Vale
