It is now nearly a month since AP McCoy hung up his boots and waved goodbye to his droves of fans at Sandown Park racecourse on 25 April. But as time goes on and he fades out of the headlines, AP’s legendary status is unlikely to diminish.
And with a new book edited by Brough Scott, all of his greatest hits are now in one place. AP McCoy: The Complete Story takes you from the Northern Irishman’s humble beginnings, to his champion status in the National Hunt world and right through to his long goodbye.
“He cast the longest shadow that racing has ever seen,” says Brough in the book’s introduction. “It took us a while to understand quite what was amongst us, but by the end even the wider world had come to realise that we were all witnessing a phenomenon unequalled in any sport.
“AP’s shadow will no longer stalk the weighing room, but his exploits will live on in glory,” continues Brough.
“For all of us who have had the luck to have logged his progress, it has been a privilege to try and stick some of that stardust on the page.
“What we bring you is no more and no less than it pretends to be. This is what AP McCoy was like at the time. It is not hindsight, it is history in the present tense.”
Continued below…
To celebrate the 20-time champion jockey AP McCoy's 42nd birthday today (4 May 2016), we've picked out just some of
Happy Birthday AP McCoy! His career in pics
For the most avid of statistic anoraks there’s a table detailing the runs, wins, placings and prize winnings for each of his seasons, as well as other useful statistic boxes scattered throughout.
With the full-page pictures of AP in action — as well as close-ups of some of his more gruesome injuries — this hardback book makes it ideal for a coffee table in not just the homes of racing fans, but any equestrian or sportsman.
This is something you’ll happily be able to dip in and out of to remind yourself about the career of a true champion.
Price: £20
Publisher: Racing Post
Get yourself a copy at: shop1.racingpost.com