Horse racing royalty Sir AP McCoy has heaped praise on Perth Racecourse ahead of his return next week, when he will visit on day one of the William Hill Perth Festival.
The opening day of Perth’s 2022 season on Wednesday April 20 will see Sir AP McCoy, a William Hill ambassador, return as a special guest to the racecourse where he enjoyed 52 winners from 193 rides during a record-breaking career.
In a special video preview ahead of the three-day William Hill Perth Festival, McCoy recalled the influence early success at Perth had on his career and the warm welcome that always lay in store during his visits.
Sir Anthony said: “I really enjoyed going to Perth. It actually played a huge part in my time trying to become champion jockey because those early season meetings were always important.
“You were trying to get on, sometimes some of the Irish lads would bring horses over to the meetings in Perth, the festivals that were there.
“So Perth was very important for me to try to get numbers on the board.
“My first ever memory of Perth was I rode a winner there in June 1995 for a man called Billy Rock who I started off riding for.
“It was my first ever winner for him, I’d been in England since the August before. I had just become champion conditional, I was just about to set off on my first year as a fully-fledged professional and so getting winners on the board early was a big thing and to ride a winner for him was very very special.
“I had a winner with him again a year later at the same meeting. He played a huge part in my career so Perth will always for that reason have a little special place in my heart, as they say.
“Overall Perth is a great place with a good social (scene) and they are really good at looking after people.
“You are there for two or three days and there’s not many times during the season you can hang out and go out for dinner as you are always travelling so Perth is one of those places where you do get the chance to socialise with each other.
“It’s a great place and I would recommend it for anyone to go.”
As part of a revitalised format, the highest-value fixture of the year – worth £106,000 of the William Hill Perth Festival’s total prize pot – will take place on the opening day of the season for the first time in the racecourse’s history.
To purchase a ticket or raceday package for the William Hill Perth Festival, visit the William Hill Perth Festival web page.
