AP is AP McCoy, record-breaking jump jockey whose dying-of-the-career-light is chronicled in this absorbing if somewhat overproduced documentary. Director Antony Wonke, who also marshalled the recently released hagiography of Cristiano Ronaldo, reins it back a bit (but not quite enough) as he shows McCoy – an undeniably dour, obsessive character – on the charge towards his 20th coronation as champion jockey through the 2014-15 season.
Talk of retirement is in the air, as McCoy is regularly clattered in a series of nasty falls, and Wonke strikes lucky when McCoy does an abrupt about-turn and announces he is quitting to an audibly shocked Rishi Persad. Providing a bit of spark is McCoy’s doughty wife Chanelle, who lobbies him continually to get out of the firing line, and then weeps copiously as he takes his final ride. But as a portrait of what motivates a sportsman at the top of his game, and how difficult it is to let go, this is insightful stuff.
