For one final time, the greatest ever jump jockey will grace his sport’s most spectacular and exciting stage. I urge you not to miss him. McCoy. AP. Nineteen-time champion jump jockey and the most recognisable initials in sport. The 2015 Cheltenham Festival boasts a glittering cast of equine and human stars but the spotlight is on one man. Ruby Walsh (right) will ride Willie Mullins-trained Faugheen in the Champions Hurdle at Cheltenham . The one who will finally walk away from the sport by the end of this season after announcing his abdication following an unchallenged 20-year reign. He is the phenomenon whose record-smashing, off-the-scale achievements have transcended the parochial boundaries of horse racing, the patron saint to millions of punters and sworn enemy of bookmakers. But both sides of that age-old skirmish will probably be praying that the 40-year-old from County Antrim has a final Festival to remember. The next four days for McCoy are not the last time he will ride. It will probably not even be the last time he rides at Cheltenham. McCoy celebrates winning the Gold Cup with Synchronised in 2012 . But it seems like the equivalent of Roger Federer’s last game on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, Ronnie O’Sullivan playing his final frame at The Crucible and — should Liverpool make it through — Steven Gerrard stepping on to the Wembley turf in an FA Cup final. But none of those icons can boast the domination of their own sport like McCoy has ruled racing. He is arguably the best pound-for-pound sportsman around — something crucial in a sport where weights and measures equate to short-head victories or defeats. And nobody loves winning and hates losing more than AP. Thirty Festival wins started with Kibreet in the 1996 Grand Annual Chase. Look back a further 12 months and no-one would have guessed the shape of the last 20 years. His first meeting, then held over three days, consisted of seven rides, three of them 100-1 shots. First up was Supreme Master, who was 16th of 20 in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. Champion jockey AP McCoy will be competing his his last Cheltenham Festival before retirement . There was a seventh place finish on veteran Beech Road behind Master Oats in the Gold Cup and his best was sixth place on Brave Tornado in the Triumph Hurdle. The middle Wednesday he was riding at Nottingham — a track that does not have a jumps course any more — where he rode a winner. That first experience of the Festival probably taught the young McCoy that Cheltenham is great when you are successful but miserable when it goes wrong. Losing can tear you apart. It is a feeling I know well and McCoy probably enjoyed that Nottingham winner far more than merely being able to play a bit part at the Festival. Just taking part has never been enough for him. There have been times when his pain has been plain for all to see. He got plenty of stick for not smiling even when he won, never mind when he lost. There have been agonising defeats and seasons when his lack of big race Festival ammunition has been tough to take. The fatal injuries to Gloria Victis in the 2000 Gold Cup and Valiramix in the 2002 Champion Hurdle deeply affected him. Jump jockey McCoy has always been a fans' favourite at Cheltenham . As he has got older, he has become better equipped to cope with the Festival roller-coaster of emotions. There will be plenty who point to the tally of 41 Festival wins for Ruby Walsh — a total fuelled by his alliance with Irish powerhouse trainer Willie Mullins and his former tie-up with British champion trainer Paul Nicholls — and ask what the McCoy fuss is all about? Who is the better jockey? Who has the best technique? These are subjective assessments which will never be finally settled. I cannot tell you McCoy has some peerless faultless technique others can only dream of. But I can write of the single-minded drive the like of which I have never known. The bloody-minded determination that can make the impossible possible, just as he did when lifting home Wichita Lineman to win on the opening day in 2009. There is the massive physical strength and resilience to inevitable injury. And I can tell you of the unparalleled professionalism he brings to every ride, an unmatched ability to get off a horse and accurately assess its ability and future career direction as well as his encyclopaedic knowledge of rivals’ strengths and weaknesses. Over the next four days, the chances are Walsh will ride more winners than McCoy, who is 10-1 to be top jockey at the meeting. But AP will view those odds as a challenge. He has sound claims in today’s Champion Hurdle on title holder Jezki, a clutch of handicap possibilities and a strong chance with Hargam in Friday’s Triumph Hurdle. Later that day, Carlingford Lough will be his mount to win a third Gold Cup. The Irish Hennessy Gold Cup winner, who runs in the colours of his boss, owner JP McManus, and is trained by John Kiely, has solid claims in an open year. Victory would be a fairytale ending for both AP and the sport. And you would not bet against it. You never bet against AP.
Jockey AP McCoy will appear Cheltenham Festival for the last time . The Nineteen-time champion jump jockey to retire at end of the season . The 40-year-old is arguably the best pound-for-pound sportsman around .