Forget Aintree, here’s where AP McCoy has been most deadly

As AP McCoy prepares to hang up his saddle, he will leave racing fans with countless memories of him rousting his charge home in front.

Everyone will have their favourites, whether it’s that ride on Wichita Lineman, his battling performance on board Synchronised in the Gold Cup, or the day he broke his Grand National duck.

However, while his big moments in the sun were, on the whole, seen at the likes of Cheltenham and Aintree, ‘the Champ’ was far more deadly elsewhere.

In a fairly meagre figure for a man of McCoy’s calibre, his strike-rate at Cheltenham is just 17.95 per cent, a number only slightly improved on at Aintree.

Instead, it is during the week at the smaller meetings that it paid to have McCoy on your side over the last two decades.

Here’s where he was most potent.

Catterick – 37.21 per cent strike rate

He may have only raced 46 times at the North Yorkshire track, but with 16 wins there it is where McCoy boasts his most prolific strike-rate.

The ‘farewell tour’ got off to the best possible start at the venue at the start of March, with a double on the card, just two days after the 40-year-old announced his retirement.

That all came after he rode a hat-trick from three rides at the course back in December, including a triumph on subsequent SkyBet Chase winner If In Doubt.

Newcastle – 37.14 per cent

It seems the northern tracks are where it is out for the 20-time jockey, with his record at Newcastle an impressive one.

With two wins in one of the course’s showpiece races of the season, the Fighting Fifth Hurdle to his name, it wasn’t just about mopping up the lesser contests at Gosforth Park.

Victory on board Straw Bear in the 2m contest in 2006 was followed up by a win with My Tent or Yours that shot him to Champion Hurdle favouritism seven years later.

Worcester – 298 winners (27 per cent strike-rate)

His strike-rate at the west Midlands track might not be up there with some of the other courses, but in terms of sheer winners, Worcester tops the lot.

A whopping 298 winners is more than most jockeys tot up in a whole season, so to build up that total at a venue that holds just 20 cards a year is phenomenal.

The place was also the scene of one of many records for McCoy, when he rode Bob Keown to victory there in 2012, racking up a half century of winners in just 44 days.

With over 100 winners at 20 different tracks, you couldn’t get away from that McCoy drive, but as these numbers show, it was probably best to avoid him at Newcastle, Catterick and Worcester.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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