Tony McCoy

When I started off riding, you dream about being champion jockey. Then I wanted to be champion jockey again. Then I wanted to ride 200 winners in a season. Then, when there was a chance of riding more winners than Richard Dunwoody, that was my goal.

I could never have ridden 4,000 winners without loving my job, and If I ever get to the point where I'm not loving it, I'll stop.

I don't know which is stronger: the thrill of winning or the fear of failure. I don't know which one affects me most. I don't know where the middle is.

I suppose I'm happy when I know I've given a horse a good ride, no matter where it is. I like playing golf in the summer; I'm happy when I hit a good shot, and I enjoy watching Arsenal playing beautiful football, but overall I can't believe you can be happy when you're not winning. I honestly can't accept that.

If you've got a regular feed of winners, you control your mind to do it. It becomes a must. If you didn't have that regular flow of winning, whether you could get yourself to do that, I don't know. It's a lot easier when you know the next day you can win and you can win and win, it's worth doing it.

You always get a buzz from winning. Winning is... everything.

It's not hard to motivate myself because once you get a taste for winning races, you simply don't want to do anything else. You get a buzz from it. You want it every day. Only someone who has experienced winning can understand how good it feels.

There is no place for arrogance or complacency in racing because you are up there one minute and on your backside the next.

I've always got a sweet tooth. I have chocolate hidden in places that nobody knows about.

I have seen countless colleagues struggle to come to terms with retirement. I learned a lot from Richard Dunwoody when he was riding, and I completely understand why he took off and undertook what most people consider mad challenges.

During every race, an ambulance trails the riders around the course. You know that sometimes you are going to end up in the back of that ambulance.

No matter how long I go without riding winners, I know in the back of my head that I can ride.