The heavy hand of history can put the mockers on even the most talented of sportsmen; witness how distant Pete Sampras’ 14 Grand Slam titles now must seem to Roger Federer. For most of his career, the Fed Express seemed to be racing towards the record. Now, it is being openly questioned whether Federer will remain forever stranded at just one title behind. For a man who admits to now being primarily motivated by his historical standing in the sport, the sense of disappointment must be unbearable.
A.P.McCoy’s search for his 3000th jumps winner had appeared just as torturous over the last few weeks. After coasting his way up to number 2998 with the minimum of fuss, the 13-time Champion Jockey had stalled, badly, in his attempt to get over the line – a combination of snow, ill-fortune and disappointing rides combining to leave McCoy without a winner in 11 days. McCoy was scheduled for four outings at Monday’s meeting at Plumpton and I didn’t fancy his chances this time either: I was sceptical as to the quality of several of his mounts and suspected that the tense wait for number 3000 might be starting to affect even an experienced pro like McCoy. Thus I chose to SELL McCOY’S JOCKEY INDEX AT 42.
DURING THE MEETING
The jockey index would make up 25 for each of McCoy’s rides that won, 10 for a second place, and 5 for a third. Despite the high quote of 42-45, which reflected both McCoy’s ability and the recent success of Nicky Henderson’s stable (which supplied three of our man’s four rides), I was still hopeful that McCoy would finish unplaced and draw a blank on at least one of his rides. He duly obliged on his first, Excape, which struggled in the extremely wet and heavy conditions and trailed in seventh.
My joy was short-lived however, as McCoy then produced a fantastic ride on Hello Moscow, powering the 4-1 shot through the driving rain to hold off the fast-finishing Spider Boy. It was vintage McCoy, and made a mockery of my pre-race prediction that the pressure of the record might adversely affect him. This left A.P. on 2999 winners, and his index quote on 25 after two races.
Predictably the betting public latched onto his next ride, Miss Sarenne, and the French filly’s odds tumbled from 6/4 into 10/11. McCoy’s index quote rose in-running as a result, but I was not too worried at this stage – after all, Miss Sarenne wouldn’t have been aware of McCoy’s record and she was the one who had put in the dirty work around the tough yards of Plumpton. How foolish I was. With McCoy on top, Miss Sarenne serenely cruised around the two mile circuit, establishing a five-length lead before the last hurdle when, incredibly, just as the sodden race-goers at Plumpton anticipated history being created, she tumbled badly at the last, sending McCoy somersaulting into the mud and in-running punters – some of whom had backed the horse at 1.01 on the betting exchanges – into despair. It was one of those heart-stopping, jaw-dropping moments that racing every now and then produces, and, what’s more, was a real get-out-of-jail-card for my bet.
I had seen enough, and closed out my bet by BUYING McCOY’S INDEX AT 38. This proved to be a wise close, as McCoy romped home on 13/8 favourite Restless D’Artaix to finally break the record and receive the outpouring of adulation from the racing public. As for me, I gratefully took my 4 point profit with an over-riding sensation of relief. It’s not easy work taking on the greatest jumps jockey of all-time, and can feel a bit like swimming against an inevitable tide. Sometimes, however, you can just about make it pay.
JW
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