10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So many brilliant horses, 25 Feb 2003
This review is from: The Julian Wilson's Great Racehorses (Hardcover)
Any book of this kind is bound to be contentious – how do you select 100 horses from over 200 years of racing in several different countries? Inevitably, there is a bias in favor of the last half-century – it is what the author has seen at first hand and it is what anybody buying the book will have seen.
Julian, who fronted BBC TV’s racing coverage for many years so is more familiar with such horses, admits to a bias in favor of Britain and Ireland. Only nine American horses (Cigar, Citation, Kelso, Man O’ War, Native Dancer, Seattle Slew, Secretariat, War Admiral and Jay Trump) and one Canadian (Northern Dancer) are featured. Some of the others were bred in America, including Mill Reef, Nijinsky and Sir Ivor, but ran their races in Europe. There are also a few horses from elsewhere, mostly France.
Aside from any dispute about which horses are the 100 best ever, this is a well-illustrated book which gives a good summary of each horse’s story, together with a list of big race wins and a pedigree going back four generations. Each horse gets 2 or 3 pages including pictures - usually photographs, but a painting in the case of those horses that pre-date photography.
Anybody interested in great British and Irish racehorses is unlikely to find a better book of this type.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An informed and concise history of every great racehorse, 22 Jan 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: The Julian Wilson's Great Racehorses (Hardcover)
This book gives an informed and concise summary of every great racehorse over the past 100 or so years ranging from Man O'War to Desert Orchid. With his immense knowledge and obvious fondness of the horses he writes about, Julian Wilson provides a fascinating insight into their characters (and that of their owners and trainers!).
Racing enthusiasts will particularly appreciate the description of each horse's breeding, even
though they may disagree with some of Mr Wilson's selections.
Well written and beautifully presented - this book is a must for anyone who loves racing.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Share the triumphs and disasters of Horse Racing., 14 Feb 2002
This review is from: The Julian Wilson's Great Racehorses (Hardcover)
Not interested in horses? Or horseracing? Wake up! You are missing out on a world driven by the desire of the horse to win. Read and understand the roles played by trainers and jockeys in helping the horse to achieve its goal. Read and understand what effect failure and success brings to the horse.
This book is beautifully presented. The text is clear and readable. The photographs reinforce the writers pride in presenting true stories of such noble creatures.
And the stories themselves are told in a relaxed, direct style with the humour and poignancy of someone who finds it easy to communicate his message.
Read it!
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