What's been your highlight of the year? It's a good question – and the answers can be very personal

Recently my colleague Chris Cook asked me which was my personal highlight of the year featured in the latest Racing Post Annual. It was a question that left me pondering why we become attached to certain horses when the reasons might not be obvious to others. 

The reason for Cook’s enquiry was that he was writing about the Annual in his Front Runner column, but the question caught me slightly on the hop. As editor of the Annual, I suppose I’d say all the featured horses become “my babies” for a little while. All their stories are important in producing the best possible review of the racing year.

Yet the answer I gave Chris was Teahupoo winning the Stayers' Hurdle. Why did I say that? He had a solid unbeaten campaign in the 2023-24 season, but he’s far from the best or most exciting horse in the Annual and his races were hardly packed with drama.