McCoy rode his 1,700th winner on Mighty Montefalco at Uttoxeter to beat Dunwoody's mark for the most British winners.

The landmark seals a place in history for the teetotal rider who is addicted to winning.

If one incident epitomises the determination of McCoy, it is his performance at Southwell racecourse in January 2002.

An astonishing event unfolded which gave horse racing a rare spot on the TV news bulletins and national newspaper front pages.

All seven starters failed to put in a clear round. But the odds-on favourite, an early casualty, was remounted and came home in splendid isolation.

McCoy was the man aboard. The man who refused to give up. The man for whom defeat is a dirty word.

He is also the man beloved by punters, and he saved them thousands of pounds that day with his never-say-die attitude.

That single-minded detemination was the chief reason he broke the record for the number of winners in a season, 269, set on the Flat by Sir Gordon Richards in 1947.

He had 289 winners by the end of last season yet was still just as eager to get back in the saddle when the new campaign started - less than 48 hours later.

Known in the racing world by his initials AP, or Antony Peter, McCoy has been the top jockey since he came to England from County Antrim in 1994.

His dominance among current riders is unquestionable and his latest record adds weight to the argument that the 28-year-old is also the greatest of all time.

In the 1997-8 campaign, McCoy shattered Peter Scudamore's previous jumps record of 221 wins in a season by clocking up a total of 253.

He holds the record for the fastest 100, 150 and 200 winners in a season. He is also the fastest jockey to 1,000 winners - a landmark he reached at an age six years younger than Dunwoody.

Yet with each new record that arrives, McCoy's desire for winners does not diminish.

McCoy had little to celebrate at Cheltenham this year, with the death of hurdler Valiramix casting a shadow over the event.

He did have one winner at the three-day meeting, but admitted he nearly withdrew from the event.

The jockey has enjoyed happier times at the Festival, winning five of the 20 races in 1998.

A year earlier, he secured a Gold Cup/Champion Hurdle double in 1997 with Mr Mulligan and Make A Stand.

But the one big contest which has eluded McCoy remains the Grand National.

Up until the 2001 National, he had not even completed the course - he fell at the third on favourite Dark Stranger in 2000, for example.

Last year, he made a calculated choice in the Aintree mud by going for Blowing Wind, one of 10 Pipe entries.

Yet he had to settle for third behind Red Marauder after falling and remounting - he again rode Blowing Wind to third in 2002.

Winning the National remains one of his unfulfilled ambitions.

But so does winning every major race, and remaining champion jockey until he retires, which he says is probably at least another seven years away.