For hundreds of years men have attempted to breed the perfect racehorse, the one that will be greater than all the others of its generation. This book, with Julian Wilson's selection of the greatest racehorses ever, is a chronicle of the successful achievements of a number of those men; of the one horse in 10,000 that stands head and shoulders above the field. There are profiles of Desert Orchid, Cigar, Shergar and Lammtarra amongst many others, and every entry also includes the blood-lines of the horse. The book is a tribute to the truly great racehorses of the past 200 years, from Eclipse to Dancing Brave on the flat, and from Manifesto to Dawn Run under National Hunt rules. Some were bred by a genius who devoted a lifetime to the pursuit, whilst others were bred completely by chance. The author has not attempted an "order of merit"; such a task would be impossible, as each horse has its own particular story of triumph, tragedy or pathos. The hero - or heroine - of each story is not the owner, the breeder, the trainer; it is that noble sporting creature, the racehorse.

About the Author

Julian Wilson was the BBC Television Racing Correspondent from 1966 to 1998. He divides his time between Newmarket and London.

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

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 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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

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

By	steve.gittins@virgin.net (Wrexham, North Wales) - See all my reviews

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!

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So many brilliant horses, 25 Feb 2003

By	Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 3 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }