Mount! (76 page)

One of the hardest parts of these acknowledgements is thanking the great and good and getting their titles right, because they’re always playing musical chairmen. Simon Bazalgette is still COE of the Jockey Club, Paul Lee still Chairman of the Levy Board but stud owner Tony Hirschfeld is no longer
Chairman of the Racehorse Owners Association, and its last President, Rachel Hood, has been succeeded by Nicholas Cooper of the British Horse Authority, while yet another ex-chairman, Paul Roy, is now chairing ROR, namely the Retraining of Racehorses.

Tony Kelly of Arena Racing, who entertained me to yet another lovely lunch, has whizzed off to run the Hong Kong Jockey Club, while the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, whose awards I thoroughly enjoyed, is now chaired by Julian Gordon-Watson. My thanks to all of them.

A huge incentive to owning a racehorse is that it entitles you to become a member of the wonderful Racehorse Owners Association, organized by the delightful Keeley Brewer, whose team keep one in touch with all owner events and who hold splendid lunches and award ceremonies with terrific speakers.

Nor can I express my gratitude too highly for racing’s regulators, the British Horseracing Authority, who have been such a support that I have teasingly re-named a parallel organization BRA in
Mount!
Early on in my research, I had a fascinating lunch with Paul Scotney, former Director of Integrity. Later dear Adam Brickell, the present Director of Integrity, Legal and Risk gave me endless help, particularly into how an enquiry might be staged at the BHA. Details were provided by Danielle Sharkey, Compliance Adviser and Adam’s sweet PA Fiona Carlin. The charming new BHA Chairman Steve Harman, and his Corporate Affairs Assistant Laura Bewick must also be thanked.

Another great friend Paull Khan, now Secretary-General of the European & Mediterranean Horseracing Federation, was invaluable with his advice when he was previously Racing Director of Weatherbys, the fount of all wisdom where racing is concerned. Also at Weatherbys, Ali Wade has been heroically patient checking whether my innumerable fictional horses’ names have been used before. I cannot thank her enough. I’d like to thank Rachel Jones of Bloodstock Marketing Services for the glorious Weatherbys Stallion Book, and Nick Cheyne, Weatherbys jovial Client Relations Director, who invited me to the mighty King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at
Ascot, a crucial race in
Mount!
Best of all I have joined Weatherbys, who must be the wisest, most courteous bank in the world, and would like to thank its Chief Executive Roger Weatherby and Stephen Cannon and Simon Gardiner who advise and look after me so beautifully.

I am again so grateful to Diana Cooper, stalwart at Godolphin, for introducing me to her sweet sister-in-law Juliet Cooper, who invited me to a marvellous eventing weekend, the equivalent of Badminton, staged by Tattersalls in Ireland. This resulted in Juliet and Patrick, her glamorous husband, a leading light of BBA, the great Irish Bloodstock Agency, taking me to a blissful day at the Curragh, Ireland’s greatest racecourse.

During my stay in Ireland, my great friend Jacques Malone, who seems to know everyone in racing, took me to another Paradise, Coolmore Stud in Tipperary, where no petals of the divine gardens were out of place. Here Mathieu Legars showed me round and I was ecstatic to shake hooves with gentle Galileo, the greatest stallion in the world, and equally thrilled to meet the mighty Camelot. For who in racing will ever forget the joy on the faces of his parents, trainer Aidan and Anne-Marie O’Brien, when their son Joseph in 2012 rode this wondrous colt to victory in the 2000 Guineas and the English and Irish Derbies?

Later, at Ballydoyle, Coolmore’s racing arm, Polly Murphy drove us around endless tracks and gallops, enabling one to appreciate how Aidan prepares his horses for every eventuality. This was followed by a wonderful lunch for which I must thank spokesman Richard Henry and also Peter Steele, who took me round Coolmore’s stunning museum, where an understandably rapturous thank-you letter from Her Majesty the Queen is proudly on show.

The following day, Jacques took me to visit awesome jump trainer Willie Mullins and his lovely wife Jackie. Willie’s yard is a total contrast to Coolmore, bustling with dogs, hens, bantams with Christian names and utterly relaxed world-beating horses in every shape of box. Willie is so laidback, believing horses should get used to everything, he didn’t miss a beat when on the gallops his Alsatian puppy ran through the legs of a hurtling stampede of horses. This pragmatic approach is clearly
responsible for Willie’s this year nailing the leading jumps trainer in Ireland and only by a whisker missing the English title.

Whilst in Ireland, I met another enchanting couple, Edmond Mahony, Chairman of Tattersalls, Newmarket and his wife Juliet, and back in England spent an excellent day at Tattersalls enjoying lunch and watching their stylish auctioneers at work. I was also most grateful to Property Manager John Morrey for taking me on a riveting tour of the stables and loading areas.

Although I was so lucky to go to the World Cup, I regretfully never made the Breeders’ Cup in America or the Melbourne Cup, though they are essential to my plot. I therefore had to rely on television, DVDs and friends who’d been there. Here again, Leanne Masterton graphically described her journeys abroad with Andrew Balding’s great horse Side Glance, while Jamie and Katie Osborne filled me in about those of Toast of New York.

Alastair Donald at the International Racing Bureau in Newmarket kindly and graphically unravelled the red tape surrounding the Breeders’ Cup. The wonderfully funny James MacEwan of Janah Transport told me about flying at least six thousand horses a year round the world to race or take up stud duties, including one mare, for whom her solicitous owner begged a window seat. Kevin Needham of BBA Shipping also gave me great advice and it was marvellous to be able to call on Barry Preece of the Little Jet Company at Staverton for advice on flying planes and helicopters.

Racing people are not just generous in their hospitality, but also in the hours they devote to raising money for both horses and humans. Heading these are my great friends Andrew Parker Bowles, founder, and Di Arbuthnot, Chief Executive, of the marvellous Retraining of Racehorses (ROR), who find new careers for these brave horses once their days on the track are over. The indefatigable Paul Roy’s recently becoming Chairman of ROR can only be to their good, whilst a lovely friend, Katie Dashwood, often rides rescued horses to victory.

Another pioneer in this field is dear Helen Yeadon with her sanctuary at Greatwood for retired and rescued horses, who often bond most touchingly with autistic children. I would also
like to praise the Blue Cross, the Racehorse Sanctuary and in fact all the other sanctuaries everywhere who work so heroically to give these horses a better life.

As I pointed out in my acknowledgements to
Jump!
any horse’s death is tragic, but I wish animal rights activists would direct their fire more towards the hideously long distances horses have to travel to slaughter houses abroad, or towards sadistic owners who, rather than fork out for a vet’s bill, leave horses to starve or freeze to death outside. Thank goodness for World Horse Welfare and their CEO Roly Owers, and all the other organizations that prevent cruelty.

Equally, one cannot praise too highly the Injured Jockeys Fund, and its great-hearted former president, the wonderfully witty John Francome, his titanic successor, Sir Anthony McCoy, the indefatigable pioneering Vice President, Jack Berry, and Dale Gibson, Industry Liaison Officer to the Professional Jockeys Association.

I also have huge admiration for Michelle Bardsley, training co-ordinator of the Northern Racing College, and Gemma Waterhouse, formerly of the British Racing School at Newmarket, who are so crucial in enabling young people to embark on a career in sport. Three cheers too for the marvellous, much-enlarged Newmarket Racing Museum, which attracts so many thousands to the sport.

Racing is incredibly lucky that night and day, home and abroad, so many races are covered on television. Authors are lucky too. Goodness knows how Surtees and Somerville and Ross got off the ground without the beauty, information and entertainment provided by our three racing channels.

I would like particularly to express my gratitude to charming, unflappable Nick Luck, and all his team on Channel 4, including Alice Plunkett and Clare Balding, Sir Anthony McCoy and former participants John McCririck, John Francome and Mike Cattermole. Huge thanks too to
At the Races
, whose reports on racing throughout the night were particularly valuable and to their presenters Robert Cooper, Derek Thompson, Jason Weaver, Luke Harvey, Sean Boyce and the irrepressible Matt Chapman.

Nor can I ever express my gratitude sufficiently to the wonderful Diana Keen of Sunset and Vine, who let me come to production meetings, wander all over the set, hurtle in the cameramen’s cars during the races and provided me with DVDs after she made beautiful heroic films of the Grand National and the World Cup.

Racing is also lucky to have such varied supporters from the great Sheikh Mohammed, the splendid increasingly svelte Sheikh Fahad al Thani and his brothers, plus Maurice Hennessy and Juan Carlos Capelli at Longines. And John Franklin, the engaging communications manager of Bollinger, the justifiably official provider of champagne at Ascot and Royal Ascot, adds a lovely sparkle to so many race days.

Racehorses are so swift and beautiful they inspire great copy at lightning speed. The sport again is incredibly fortunate to have the
Racing Post
chronicling every detail of every adventure. It seems invidious to single out anyone from such a great team, but I have been especially inspired by editor Bruce Millington, the evergreen Howard Wright, Alastair Down, Brough Scott, Steve Dennis, Lee Mottershead, Julian Muscat, Tom Kerr and Martin Stevens and Nancy Sexton on the bloodstock pages.

Equally, the joy as it flies is captured by their photographers, in particular the wondrous Edward Whitaker, who surely Uccello and Stubbs would have venerated. As they would George Selwyn, whose breathtakingly beautiful pictures appear in
Owner and Breeder
, another glorious magazine, published by ex ROA Chairman, Michael Harris, edited by Edward Rosenthal, and including great writers Emma Berry, Tony Morris, the ubiquitous Rachel Hood, and wonderful interviews by Tim Richardson. Terrific racing photographers also include Dan Abraham and Les Hurley.

Other inspiring authors number Robin Oakley, Marcus Armytage, Ivor Herbert, Bernice Harrison, David Ashforth, Lizzie Price, Marcus Townend, Richard Pitman, Dominic Prince, Felix Francis and Sean Magee, who worked so magically with that most lyrical legend, the great-hearted Sir Peter O’Sullevan. I’d also like to thank the authors of two great books:
Equine Stud Management
by Melanie Bailey and
The Last
Resort
, a memoire of Zimbabwe by Douglas Rogers.

Racing, in addition, inspires great equine painters: Katie O’Sullivan and Peter Curling, whose hilariously iconoclastic cartoon book
The Trainer
nearly got him chucked out of racing in Ireland, and Michelle McCullagh, whose drawings turn up in so much racing literature. Having read
Jump!
Michelle painted a hauntingly beautiful portrait of its heroine Mrs Wilkinson, mother of my naughty hero horse Master Quickly, which now proudly hangs in the drawing room at home.

So many other friends came up with great ideas. The former Home Secretary Michael Howard, over a blissful lunch at the House of Lords, was hilarious on racing in China, as was Robert Cole about China generally. Andrew Parker Bowles was brilliant as usual on racing. Judy Zatonski and Dr Mary Jane Fox were great on greyhounds. Michaela Galova and Marta Dostalova were great role models for my Czech Republic stable girls and dreamt up a lovely stable cat.

My great friends Bruce and Janetta Lee were endlessly helpful on racing in America. Freelance PR Kate Hills advised me on racing promotion, Colin Brown on race-day presentation and Lucy Cavendish on prepping young horses for the sales, Arthur Wade, Ian Minney and Sabina Marland on beautiful gardens, and Carole Adams, our Cotswold Hunt Secretary, on hunting. I also enjoyed a lovely lawn meet held by Toby Rowland and his wife Plum Sykes.

Dr Nattrass, from our Frithwood Surgery, advised me on medical matters, and on the veterinary front I had great guidance from our own vet Shane Jackson and his staff at Bowbridge Veterinary Group, from John McKenna, Shirley Bevin, Tom Austin, hilarious in Ireland, and Dr Jeremy Naylor, who was brilliant on racehorse illness and fertility problems.

My friends as usual provided endless support and input: they include Simon McMurtrie and Emma Devlin, Rupert and Ollie Miles, William and Caroline Nunneley, Rob and Sharon Morgan, Maria Prendergast, Jenny McCririck, Roly Luard, Lucy Lane-Fox, John McEntee, Katie Dashwood, Karina Gabner, Bernie Leadon-Bolger, Giles and Juliet Stibbe, Anthony Winlaw, Timmy Sim, Ingrid Seward, Barrie Foster, Marion Carver and
Nell and Carey Buckler. Carey in particular looks after sponsorship at Cheltenham Racecourse, and while on this subject I’d like to thank Cheltenham’s managing director, Ian Renton, and his wife Jean for inviting me to magical racing during the winter months.

This must be the longest bread and butter letter ever written, but to my shame I took down the telephone numbers of so many other people but never followed them up. For this I apologize and even more for anyone who’s helped me who I haven’t included.

All the people who advised me were experts in their own field, but because
Mount!
is a work of fiction I only took their advice so far as it suited my plot, so any inaccuracies are mine. Equally all the characters are fictional, except those like Sheikh Mohammed, or Her Majesty the Queen, so renowned they appear as themselves.

With the help of Ali Wade of Weatherbys, I’ve truly tried to avoid the names of horses already taken but confess I’ve stuck with Safety Car, which seemed the perfect name for Rupert Campbell-Black’s favourite and most endearing horse. I hope the
vrai
Safety Car, born in France in 2008, won’t be too
furieux
.