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10th September 2022
03:45pm BST

"But she did make you feel very at ease in her company. There were other jockeys that would have known her a bit better - guys like Willie Carson, Ryan Moore. One of the most poignant things in the sport was when Ryan won the [2013] Gold Cup, at Royal Ascot. He was walking back down past Her Majesty, in the royal box. Ryan tipping his hat and Her Majesty waving back. It was a very special thing."McCoy, was was made a knight of the realm not long after his final race, also remembered the moment the Queen shot back a quick-witted remark when he thought it was best to skip out of an Ascot audience. [caption id="attachment_271836" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
AP McCoy poses with his wife Chanelle and daughter Eve, and his OBE, which he received from the Queen at Buckingham Palace, in June 2011. (Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA)[/caption]
"I was lucky enough to watch a couple of races with her, at Royal Ascot, a few times. I was asked by the Queen's representative, Johnny Weatherby, whether I'd come in and watch a couple of races in Her Majesty's company, and I was very grateful to do so. "I watched two races with her and, obviously, being Irish, I forgot the protocols, which I should have known more about. I went to get up, once, thinking she'd be bored of me sitting beside her. She said, 'Have you got somewhere better to go?' She started smiling at me. "Obviously, you shouldn't get up off your seat before the Queen does. But it was the way she looked at me and smiled that got me."McCoy said horse-racing was lucky to have Queen Elizabeth II as the sport was 'her passion and her love'. "She spent most of her life breeding and racing horses, right up to her last days," he said. https://twitter.com/talkSPORT/status/1568599701255077888
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