Peter O'Sullevan's Horse Racing Heroes

Sir Peter O'Sullevan, who has been at the heart of horse racing for 60 years, pays tribute to the individuals - equine and human - who have enriched his racing life.

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Peter O'Sullevan has been at the heart of horse racing for sixty years. For television viewers he was 'The Voice of Racing', as his distinctive tones formed part of the folk memory of the sport's greatest occasions - Nijinsky's Derby, Red Rum's Grand Nationals, Dawn Run and Desert Orchid's Gold Cups, and countless others. For readers of his newspaper columns he was 'King of the Naps', a uniquely well informed pundit whose unrivalled connections brought him a huge following, both for the quality of his tipping and the trademark 'exclusives' and humour of his reporting.Now multi-award-winning Sir Peter pays tribute to the heroes - equine and human - who have enriched his racing life. Arkle and Sea Bird II, respectively the finest jumping and Flat horses of the 20th century, are joined by the two best horses to have carried the black and yellow O'Sullevan colours, the great sprinter Be Friendly and Attivo, 'a right little hero' who won the Triumph Hurdle, Chester Cup and Northumberland Plate.
Sir Peter's human heroes form a pantheon of riding and training legends: Lester Piggott and Gordon Richards, the two finest Flat jockeys of the modern age; fabled jump jockey and top trainer Fred Winter; Rae Johnstone and Scobie Breasley, two jockeys from overseas who left an indelible mark on British racing; and three trainers whose names pepper the big-race records - Vincent O'Brien and Paddy Prendergast from Ireland and Alec Head from France.In the beautifully illustrated "Sir Peter O'Sullevan's Horse Racing Heroes", one racing hero pays affectionate homage to twelve heroes of his own.