text: It was a simple slip of the tongue, instantly corrected minutes after his last ever ride at Sandown on Saturday. After a tearful yet joyous and ultimately unsuccessful afternoon that none of the 18,000 spectators will forget, it was also the point at which AP McCoy acknowledged that he was an ex-jockey. ‘I am going to miss what I do . . . what I did,’ he said with a pained smile. That whole new routine kicked in yesterday. AP McCoy makes a lap of honour round the Parade ring with Champion Jockey's Trophy at Sandown . McCoy walks into Parade Ring to ride his final race on Box Office as the media assemble to get one last shot . A lie-in and cooked breakfast before a party for family and friends at his home near Lambourn. This week there will be two days as a spectator for McCoy at the Punchestown Festival. Then, when former colleagues head to Uttoxeter and Hexham on Saturday to make an early impression on the first AP-free jockeys’ title race in two decades, McCoy will be attending the wedding of one of wife Chanelle’s friends. The family duties and the exorbitant cost of a ticket means McCoy will not be heading to Las Vegas to watch Mayweather and Pacquiao. But there is a bucket list of things he wants to do now his life is no longer welded to the pursuit of riding perfection. Seeing his beloved Arsenal in the FA Cup final as well as, next season, travelling to watch them in Europe. McCoy with trainer Jonjo O'Neil after riding his final race on Box Office at Sandown racecourse on Saturday . Channel 4 presenter and tennis fan Emma Spencer . Riding some stages in the amateur Tour de France and attending the US Masters in Augusta. He can aim to reduce his own golf handicap and there is also another sporting challenge to conquer. McCoy, who doesn’t play tennis, has challenged Channel 4 presenter Emma Spencer, herself a tidy player, to a match with a tasty side bet riding on the outcome. Coaches are being lined up for McCoy’s crash course. Watch out Emma. Come to think of it, watch out Andy Murray. The list of diversions mean in the short term coping with life in Civvy Street should not be impossibly harrowing for the man who described Saturday as the ‘hardest day of my life’. During his Punchestown trip McCoy will also visit Robbie and JT McNamara, both battling degrees of paralysis after bad falls. It will inject a dose of sobering reality into his situation. McCoy said: ‘The fear of retirement is going to get worse in a month or a year. I think I will be all right in the first few weeks because I have things to do and I will be busy. ‘I will see Robbie McNamara on Tuesday and John Thomas on Wednesday. It will be nice to see the two lads and will put a lot of things into perspective.’ Sean Bowen won the conditional jockey title at Sandown on Saturday as is tipped for a bright future . There are media work offers to consider and a likely role with boss JP McManus. But McCoy will need something to satisfy his enormous work ethic. Last week he did not accept rides because he wanted to begin weaning himself off racing. But on Thursday night, trainer Paul Webber texted McCoy, saying he was short of a work rider for Friday morning, start time 7.45am. The 20-time champion jockey was not late. He also feels, painfully, that even his amazing records will be broken, perhaps even by the emerging Sean Bowen. The 17-year-old winner of Saturday feature bet365 Gold Cup on Just A Par has lifted the champion conditional jockey crown earlier in his life than McCoy managed. He has the same agent in Dave Roberts, who said: ‘What he is doing is freaky. We want to keep his feet on the ground but he has some talent.’ Sound familiar? A new era may be dawning.
target: AP McCoy will struggle with his new routine now he has retired from racing .
  20-time champion jockey described Saturday as the hardest day of his life .
  His short-term list of diversions will include watching his beloved Arsenal .
  Conditional jockey champion Sean Bowen tipped to follow in his footsteps .