Gold Cup winning trainer Noel Chance hails Tony McCoy
Thursday 23 April 2015 15:29, UK
Noel Chance feels Tony McCoy has always had that special talent that made him stand out from his peers.
McCoy was only just starting his domination of the National Hunt scene when he rode Mr Mulligan to victory in the 1997 Cheltenham Gold Cup for Chance.
The former Lambourn handler believes it was McCoy's thorough preparation and knowledge of the opposition that gave him the edge that day.
"It was my first Gold Cup and it was his first. He was always in a position to ride more than I would train," recalled Chance, who gave up his licence in 2013 and coincidentally is the father-in-law of McCoy's great rival and perennial title runner-up, Richard Johnson.
"He's a legend and I remember that day. The lead up to it was fraught with huge difficulties. I never lost faith and it all worked out in the end.
"He gave him a great ride. He was so positive on him. He would suss out the opposition find out their weakenesses and make sure he put them all to the sword which he did by taking it up at halfway. It clinched it for him.
"Tony had ridden him in the King George when he was booked for second place but fell at the last. It was the dearest fall ever - it cost us 25 grand.
"The horse wasn't fully prepped for that day because he'd had a lot of difficulties before that and they were compounded by the injuries he got that day.
"He came back, we couldn't afford to miss a day before the Gold Cup and the rest is history.
"Tony was something else. He would ride work the odd time for us. There was this unraced filly and something happened to her so she didn't run at that time.
"Anyway, she made her debut at Taunton and a boy out of the yard was riding her and Tony was on one for Martin Pipe and he went up to the lad and said to him 'that will win' and it did.
"He had only ridden it once at work three or four months before and he recognised it. He just had that talent.
"He didn't ride that much for us. We did have a couple owned by his boss, JP McManus, later on and he rode one of those first time out and Haydock, and it won.
"We didn't have good enough horses unfortunately to warrant his attentions and get him. Any time he did ride for us, he would give you his feedback and he was very rarely wrong."
