Cue Card: reliving the heartache and ecstasy of a chasing career like no other

Cue Card: The People's Champion (edited by Lee Mottershead and Andrew Pennington)
£20, published by Racing Post

Do you remember when US Open winner John Daly retired, then unretired 48 hours later? Or when Owl City nabbed the number one spot with Fireflies? Probably not, as they didn't exactly hit the front page, but also because they happened way back in January 2010. Unbelievably, that is also when a hitherto unknown horse called Cue Card made his debut – on January 25 to be precise. He may not have made headlines that day, but he was no one-hit wonder either.

Ask ten jumps fans why they love the sport, and chances are at least nine will say because the horses come back year after year, season after season – old friends returning from their secretive summer breaks, their brief anonymity as just another bay horse in a field of many brought to an end by jockeys climbing aboard bedecked in brilliant silks.