LESS THAN TWENTY-FOUR hours after announcing he will retire at the end of the season, AP McCoy sparked emotional scenes at Leopardstown as he won his first Irish Hennessy Gold Cup on board Carlingford Lough.
The 4/1 shot recovered from a a stumble on the penultimate fence to win by three-quarters of a length from Foxrock and Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Lord Windermere.
McCoy has now ridden 4,324 winners during his career after winning the previous race on Sort It Out just half an hour earlier.
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The 40-year-old revealed he would be leaving the saddle this year during yesterday’s meeting at Newbury.
“You can’t fight fate and it was obviously meant to be the way things happened,” he told RTÉ.
“Fair play to John Kiely. Every day I’ve been on this horse he’s produced the goods. He’s done a brilliant job, couldn’t be better.
“JP’s (McManus) family are here and my family are here. It’s brilliant. It’s what’s meant to be.
“It’s amazing the people here at Leopardstown today. I have to be careful I don’t get too emotional, it’s not good for the image.”
McCoy has won 19 champion jockey titles.
