'This is far from just a picture book' - a shining masterpiece on a decade of best horses

One of the joys of spring for a racing fan is that anything is possible. At the start of this season, Auguste Rodin, Little Big Bear and Equinox might all have been on the brink of superstardom.

One of the sadnesses for a racing fan as the season goes on is that so often those hopes of greatness are dashed.

We have been lucky this year and only one of that trio has faltered – so far. But it is still great to have John Crofts's latest masterpiece to hand to remind us of the times when dreams did come true.

Crofts worked for Peter Walwyn and Henry Cecil before becoming a racing photographer in 1981 and his love of a top performer shines through the "Best Horses of the Decade" series of limited edition books, which has now reached 2010-2019.

His own pictures fully bring to life the write-ups on stars from Advertise to Workforce, with several wide shots necessary when it comes to the brilliant Frankel, so as to allow beaten rivals into the frame.

Not that you have to be one of the greatest in history to earn a place between the covers. Crofts also celebrates the "terrific career" of 23-time sprint winner Caspian Prince, illustrated perfectly with a fine photo of his landing a third Epsom Dash with a backdrop of the hectic fairground on the Downs.

Yet this is far from just a picture book. Crofts's introduction is always a punchy piece and anyone connected with ITV Racing, Champions Day or the jockeys' championships might want to skip those pages.

And the class of contributing writers is as high as the horses the book honours.

Who better to mark the passing of Lester Piggott than Tony Morris, whose recollection of an encounter with the great man at Leicester in 1965 speaks volumes about his legendary knowledge of horses, his ability in the saddle and his prowess in the stewards' room!

Nancy Sexton, who followed Morris on to the Racing Post bloodstock desk, contributes a compelling account of the Queen's "enduring passion" for racing.

Former jockey Freddy Tylicki's foreword, touching on the deficient policing of the interference rules and warning of former colleagues "competing with a reckless disregard for the safety of fellow competitors", has already made our news pages.

And Geoff Greetham, for many years the writer of the very best words in the now defunct series of Timeform annuals, is also free to offer "Some Thoughts". The pithy common sense from the sage of Luddenden is best summed up by one of his own sub-headlines: "There's too much navel-gazing – racing needs to keep a sense of proportion!"

Let us hope Crofts will be around to hail Auguste Rodin and Equinox in "Best Horses of the Decade 2020-2029", if they earn chapters with their exploits on track in the rest of this year.

Best Horses of the Decade 2010-2019 by John Crofts, £39.95, published by Miralgo Productions
David Carr

Former lawyer's brief delivers a page-turner to the end

The world of racing thrillers is littered with former jockeys trying their luck, the likes of Sir Anthony McCoy and John Francome having followed the path trodden most successfully by the great Dick Francis.

Robert Braithwaite’s debut novel "Places Reversed", which is out now in paperback, delivers a slight twist on the formula by having a former top amateur jockey as its protagonist – although there’s certainly a lot more to Freddie Lyons than just his days in the saddle.

A failed banker, Lyons has Russian money launderers, an ex-wife with whom he is embroiled in a bitter separation dispute and a host of creditors all demanding money from him. So where do you go to raise funds quickly? The Deauville sales, of course.

Lyons is there to see his beloved string of horses being sold in a quickfire dispersal to keep the Russians and his former love, Penny, off his back. Awaiting his bloodstock agent, Edward Hamilton, he sees an end to his nightmare in sight.

However, the opening paragraph of the novel proclaims "no matter how much you'd manage out the risk, something unforeseen always happened". The horses bought so expensively as foals are duds and the money needed disappears, as does the elusive Hamilton.

From that moment the novel is rooted in the worlds of racing and bloodstock. Braithwaite jumps from locations with the grandeur of Deauville and Royal Ascot to everyday dealings with horses in Newmarket and a grassroots National Hunt course like Sedgefield.

There is also the plotting of an old-fashioned major betting coup, one which hints at turning the novel on its head, after Lyons has a chance meeting with his former boss, trainer Birkley Coward. Birdie, as Coward is known to the protagonist, devises a plan with burgeoning stable star Milksheikh to land the Royal Hunt Cup. 

"Between what I know, and what the handicapper knows, there's 40lb worth of opportunity," Coward says. For Lyons, there's a hell of a lot of pounds of a different kind on the line.

Braithwaite deals with all the racing and bloodstock material convincingly enough to demonstrate that he knows the ins and outs of the sport.

For that, it transpires, we can partly thank veteran Scottish trainer Jim Goldie, who is credited by the author for helping him to compose the story, although Braithwaite has also lent heavily on his own background at every turn. He is a former lawyer and City businessman who has worked as an assistant trainer in France and England, now dabbling in bloodstock in France.

As you might expect given the genre, there is also a murkiness to the novel that one hopes isn’t necessarily based on Braithwaite’s own experience of the sport. One example involves a shady get-rich-quick scheme involving a syndicate, while this is a story of deeply flawed heroes in general, not just Lyons and Coward but also Robert Hamley-Flower, the former owner of Normandy Stud now down on his luck.

But Braithwaite brings it all to life with an assured touch and will keep you turning the page to the end.

Places Reversed by Robert Braithwaite, £6.99 on Amazon, published independently
Matt Rennie

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