Masterful McCoy - Telegraph A P McCoy has ridden his 4,000th winner, many hundreds more than any other jockey. The achievement is astounding. He has been champion National Hunt jockey, with most winners, every season since 1995. Back in 2002, when he rode 289 winners, he received an honorary doctorate from the Queen's University, Belfast. Not the statistics but his courage deserves all honour. Among those paying tribute to McCoy, more than one called him "hungry for winners." This is literally so, since, as a tall man, he must starve himself every day. He perseveres, aged 39, dauntless in the face of danger: that's the game. Horses are tall, fast and heavy; falls happen. He has broken ribs and collar-bones, wrist and cheekbones, and ridden on with injuries that would send another to bed. If all this is not sporting excellence, nothing is. In jump racing it is Tony McCoy first, the rest nowhere.