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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Melissa Jones

Racing legend AP McCoy delights fans by singing The Killers hit on stage at Punchestown

Lucky racing fans at a festival were treated to a rendition of a hit song by a legend of the sport.

AP McCoy performed 'Mr Brightside' live on stage at Punchestown on Friday. The 20-times champion jockey sang the single, released by American rock band The Killers in 2003, enthusiastically at the big race meeting in Ireland.

In a clip posted by the racecourse, McCoy is seen joining in with the band. The former top sportsman, now a pundit on ITV Racing, smiled and clutched the microphone tightly.

And just like in many of his races on the track, McCoy judged the pace perfectly, by getting the speedy lyrics spot on. Racegoers were seen filming the moment on their mobile phones as they sang and danced to the music.

Around a minute in, McCoy is handed a bottle of Coca Cola by a smartly dressed man at the front. The footage of the performance has had more than 1,200 likes on Twitter, as dozes of fans shared it.

The track's tweet read: "Q. What do you do yesterday? A. Nothing really, just had the day of our lives topped off with champion @AP_McCoy nailing @thekillers Mr Brightside. Only in Punchestown! #mightyCraic."

For the past four days, racegoers have enjoyed top class sporting action at the County Kildare venue. It is Ireland's equivalent of the Cheltenham Festival and comes at the end of the National Hunt season.

Fans were singing along with horse racing legend McCoy (@punchestownraces)
AP McCoy after finishing second in the Alder Hey Children's Charity Handicap Hurdle on Ladies Day of the 2015 Grand National Festival (PA)

And many witnessed a moment of history on Friday when Honeysuckle stretched her unbeaten record to 16 races under Rachael Blackmore. The mare took her second Champion Hurdle title at Cheltenham in March, where the female rider scooped the feature prize, the Gold Cup.

This time the power combo teamed up successfully in the Grade 1 Paddy Power Champion Hurdle. Favourite backers also had two more results to cheer – State Man's cosy triumph in the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle and El Fabiolo's four-length win in the SalesSense International Novice Hurdle.

The pair will be expected to head to Cheltenham next year, like many of the horses competing this week. Several days ago, McCoy aired his views about potential plans to extend the showpiece fixture in Gloucestershire.

On April 15, The Jockey Club announced that they were beginning a formal consultation with owners and trainers about adding a fifth day to the meeting.

The topic has divided opinion in the sport and McCoy told Sky Sports Racing: "Now with four days, there is five, six or seven odds-on favourites. It’s so diluted, I think it's the worst thing that racing could ever do to let them have five days at Cheltenham.

“I mean no disrespect, but a mares’ novices’ hurdle at Cheltenham, what does it do? There are races there which shouldn’t be at Cheltenham.

“Cheltenham is supposed to be the pinnacle, the hardest place to win and the most competitive with males and females competing against one another – there is a division for them all now.”

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