Addicted to winning

Tony McCoy knows a thing or two about winning. In fact, he knows a thing or 3,000 about winning, having triumphed in over 3,000 races during his stellar career, making him the only jump jockey to have amassed that total in history.

His performances in the saddle have eclipsed all those that came before him; Sir Gordon Richards, John Francombe, Peter Scudamore and even Richard Dunwoody, whose achievements, many believed would not be equalled, let alone bettered.

In April 2002, McCoy passed Richards’ total number of winners in a season when he guided Valfonic to victory at Warwick for his 270th winner of the campaign (McCoy ended the season on 289 winners). In August that same year, he rode Mighty Montefalco to victory at Uttoxeter, surpassing Dunwoody's record for the total number of career wins (1,699), a record he continues to extend with every winner he mounts.

McCoy is driven by a fear of failure. By his own admission he is addicted to winning, and although he has been the Champion Jockey for the last 14 seasons, the thought of not being the Champion frightens him to death.

It is this desire that sets McCoy, and most other successful sports people, apart from the rest of his profession, and it makes him an ideal candidate to discuss the intricacies of how to create a winning mentality with the 17 coaches and managers who are currently studying for the UEFA Pro Licence, among them, Steve Staunton, Roberto Di Matteo, Gus Poyet, Keith Hill and John Pemberton.

Last month, after he had ridden three second-place finishes at Sandown, McCoy travelled to Wokefield Park in Reading to enlighten the latest Pro Licence intake, during their 'midseason masterclass' on what exactly it is that drives him on, how he prepares himself before a race, and, more importantly, how he recovers from defeat.

“I hope I gave them an insight into a different sport, which I can think can always help improve your performance in your own sport,” said McCoy, of his time in Reading. “It might have given them ideas on how different things could work for them, or how they could adapt their mindset.

“I always like meeting people from different sports because I think it might improve my own performance or the way I might think about my own performance. If it can give me just a little bit of help then all the better. I’m all for trying different things. You can never stop learning and you always have to try different things to make yourself better.”

The UEFA Pro Licence is football's elite qualification. It largely concerns itself with factors away from the pitch, elements which aren't necessarily linked to the 11-a-side spectacle, but which are nevertheless vital to a manager's day-to-day role and their quest for success. Media management, contract law, managing upwards (at board level) and the management of professional players are all covered over the year-long course. A study visit requires the students to look at the coaching and management practices from either an overseas club or a club from a different sport. Guest speakers are also invited on each of the two residential get-togethers and McCoy is the latest speaker from outside the game to have shared his experiences.

Many coaches on the Pro Licence admitted to knowing next to nothing about horse racing, but they could do worse than take inspiration from the psychology behind McCoy's meticulous preparation and his approach to racing in general.

The night before a big race meet, he admits to running on a treadmill for 20 minutes before sitting in a steaming hot bath for hours to sweat out the necessary amount in order to reach the correct weight for a particular ride (to such a degree that when McCoy sold his house, the new occupants had to get the bath re-enamelled). In no way would any manager encourage any of their players to follow suit, but it served to highlight McCoy's dedication and his hunger for success.

Another striking element of McCoy’s make-up is that he simply does not know when he is beaten, as he proved on Wichita Lineman at last year's Cheltenham Festival, the highlight of the jump racing calendar. If he believes a horse still has something to give, he refuses to give up until the line - a method any manager could learn from.

“In some ways, if you are a footballer or a manager and you have a couple of days to reflect on a bad performance, or a defeat, it can really make you want to go out and do better; it should make you want to go out and perform better,” said McCoy.

“When I started out I was very hungry for success and I’ve always been hungry for success, but the more successful I became, there is a little bit of fear that creeps in, that makes you worry about not performing to the high level that you had done previously. In a way, it’s a great form of motivation because it keeps you on your toes. It doesn’t allow you to think ‘oh I’m more successful than everyone else, I’m going to take it easy’. It’s for your own peace of mind. You have to go out and perform again.

“The trainers put a lot of work into the horse and that makes you want to go out and perform to the highest level as well. You have to perform. In every sport you’ll have an off-day. You can’t be good all the time but you have to have it in your mind that you’re going to make it better. In horse racing, and in football, you’re performing largely for other people, for the fans or for the owner and the trainer, so it’s important that you perform.”

Despite two heavy falls, this week, McCoy has enjoyed a rather fruitful time at this year’s Cheltenham Festival. He has already received plaudits for his performance on Binocular, when guiding Nicky Henderson's horse to victory in the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday and on Thursday, he saw off the challenge of Poquelin, J'y Vole, and Barbers Shop to lead Albertas Run over the line in the RSA Chase. Indeed, his performance on board Binocular caused the former jockey and now successful trainer, Jonjo O’Neill, to say that he felt McCoy was still getting better at the age of 35. Why?

“Because he still wants it more than anyone, and is still prepared to do everything he has to do to get the right results. He is a genius,” said O’Neill.

In Reading, McCoy touched on a point about performance levels that resonated around the classroom. He said he hates it when people congratulate him for riding a winner when he knows he didn’t ride particularly well at all, a frustration he said he shared with Ronnie O’Sullivan. The managers in the room nodded their head. They understood exactly where McCoy was coming from.

They realise they had just shared the best part of an hour with a sportsman at the top of his game, a dedicated professional that never settles for what he has already achieved; he is constantly looking to ride more and more winners. The purpose of the Pro Licence is very similar in that it prepares its graduates for excellence and how to deal with excellence on a daily basis. In July these 17 coaches and managers will graduate from the course and will continue their quest for glory.

Away from football, all eyes are now on the 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup, jump racing's blue riband race, where McCoy will partner Denman, who won this race in 2008. As well as to prove that he has completely recovered from a minor heart defect, in order to reclaim the Gold Cup Denman must see-off ten other horses, including Kauto Star, who is widely regarded as the greatest steeplechaser of the last 40 years. It would be a difficult ask for any horse, heart defect or not, but with McCoy steering him round the 3m, 2f, 110 yards, Denman is entitled to believe he has a very good chance.

“It’ll come down to who’s the best horse on the day,” said McCoy, when asked how he saw the race going. “There are certain things that will make one of them better than the other, for instance, the ground; if it got pretty wet that would definitely be more in Denman’s favour than Kauto Star’s favour, whereas if the ground was quick, Kauto Star has probably got a little bit more speed than what Denman has.

“Kauto Star seems pretty bomb-proof now; he’s over the worst of his jumping problems, but when you’re going out on a horse you’ve got to hope that you can make him not jump, you hope that pressure can make him do something different.

“But there will be pressure on us all so it’ll be about coping with that pressure.”