THIS year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year A P McCoy is no stranger to the winners enclosure at Hereford.

With 36 wins from his last 121 rides, a stunning strike rate of 30%, McCoy is showing no signs of falling from his familiar perch at the top of the course’s jockeys list.

In a 17-year career, to date, the 36-year-old phenomenon has ridden in more than 13,000 races altogether which represents a distance of 31,000 miles, or 1¼ times around the earth.

Riding since 2004 mostly for patron J P McManus and Jackdaws Castle trainer Jonjo O’Neill, McCoy was formerly in partnership with serial champion trainer Martin Pipe.

He took over the reins as stable jockey at Pond House from Richard Dunwoody who had succeeded eight-time champion and local boy Peter Scudamore.

McCoy rode the very first of his legion of winners for Pipe on board Crosula on June 1, 1995, at Hereford.

Owning all of the jump jockeys' records for reaching career milestones in the fastest time, it was also at Hereford that the Northern Irishman won on “Infamous” in September, 1997 to post his 500th winner just three years and 15 days after his first success in Britain.

But for all of his stickability, the relentlessly adhesive McCoy has landed on the deck enough times to break middle and lower vertebrae, both shoulder blades, ribs, an ankle, a wrist, a leg and even those trademark gaunt cheekbones.

“A P”, who sometimes worries about his approachability, was pleased when young rider Wayne Hutchinson asked to speak to him after racing one day in 2009.

Hutchinson had just come back from injury and had fallen off a couple of mounts.

What did AP think?

“I told him he had to keep believing in himself,” says McCoy. “It happens to everyone. I said I once had four falls in a row at Hereford. I’m not sure whether that helped him but he soon got going again.”

Looking forward to some great rides on Boxing Day, the 15-time champion jockey from Moneyglass in County Antrim has revealed he will consume just 597 calories on Christmas Day.

In layman's terms that is three thinly-sliced pieces of turkey breast, one spoonful of cabbage, three Brussels sprouts and a splash of gravy.