New chapter for McCoy as winning pointer is sent out from his yard

Sir Anthony McCoy rode a remarkable 4,348 jumps winners during an exemplary career in the saddle but enjoyed something of a first at Chaddesley Corbett point-to-point in Worcestershire on Friday as an unofficial chapter opened.

Hudson Yard, who struck under Martin McIntyre, is based at McCoy's pre-training yard on the outskirts of Lambourn, but runs in the name of his head groom Ciaran O'Brien, who said: "I've been with AP since November 2017 and before that I was head lad at Alan King's for four years, while I had point-to-pointers in Ireland and also had my licence.

"We have horses for different people when they are having a break from racing and then it's a pre-training yard. We break yearlings and store horses, but I've always had an interest in pointers – even when I was with Kingy I had interests – and this was a good opening in England."

Optimism was high the daughter of Yeats – among a small handful of pointers O'Brien has at the yard – would acquit herself well.

"We thought she'd win and it all went to plan," the 46-year-old added.

"She might go to the sales; I think she could win a bumper, but we can't run her in a bumper because we haven't got the full licence. We'll keep things quiet and have the odd pointer when we can. This is actually a quiet time of year with yearlings having gone to trainers and jumpers are also going back racing, so it's nice to have a runner."

Come April, it will be four years since McCoy stopped race-riding, but he still gets his hands dirty and O'Brien continued: "AP gets stuck in when he's about; he rides out, mucks out."

McCoy distanced himself from any involvement, although confirmed he had become handy with a shovel, joking: "I mucked out 20 stables on Christmas day – how times have changed!"

He added: "It was nothing to do with me and I didn't even know what time she was running until Luke Harvey text me. I'd ridden her at home and Ciaran said she'd win – she went off at 14-1. She went all right at home and I'd schooled her too, but I'm not too tied down to the yard."

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