With a show-jumping career spanning over forty years, Nick Skelton is a legend in the equestrian world. No other rider has won so many major competitions on so many different horses and he is as popular at Olympia and Hickstead as he is at Aachen, Geneva, Paris and Spruce Meadows. Skelton has competed in eight Olympic Games. He was part of the gold medal-winning Great Britain team at London 2012 and made history by winning the individual Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016, riding at the age of fifty-eight his beloved horse Big Star.Nick Skelton began riding at the age of eighteen months on a Welsh pony called Oxo. At the age of seventeenth in 1975, Skelton took team silver and individual gold at the Junior European Championships. He has competed many times at the European Show Jumping Championships, winning numerous medals, both individually and with the British team. In 1980 he competed in the Alternative Olympics, where he helped the British team to a silver medal. He still holds the British Show Jumping High Jump record that he set in 1978.In 2000, Skelton was forced into an early retirement after he broke his neck from a serious fall. But following an amazing recovery he came out of retirement in 2002 to compete again. Now he tells the full story of his eventful life and matchless achievements. Read more

Fred Dibnah's World celebrates the life and work of Britain's best known steeplejack and national treasure, Fred Dibnhah. Before his death in 2004, Fred presented many popular series, including Magnificent Monuments, The Age of Steam and Made in Britain, all of which attracted viewers in their millions.Fred is the companion to the 12-part BBC2 series celebrating the life of this great man, which combines highlights from some of Dibnah's classic programmes with previously unseen footage. The book can of course go much further than the series, including an extraordinarily account of Fred's childhood which evokes a lost England and our great industrial heritage. Fred's passion for the glories of the Victorian age and his fascination with the landscape he grew up in, plus his admiration for the craftsmen and labourers who made it all possible, captivate us on every page. Fred is the personification of everything that made England great in the first place. And this is a glorious tribute to a man whom millions came to love. Read more

ARTHUR HANCOCK NEEDED A MIRACLEHe had long ago strayed from the golden path that once seemed to beckon him, as the eldest son of a Thoroughbred racing legend. His life had been a wild, booze-fueled ride: car wrecks, fights, nights in jail. But whatever else he was, Hancock was a born horseman-and knew that he had it in him, one day, to take Claiborne forward as the most storied farm in the Bluegrass. Only that day never came. Obstructed by powerful enemies, and driven by a fiery pride, Hancock shook the dust of Claiborne from his boots-and vowed not only to build up a greater farm yet, from scratch, but to end the quest that had tormented generations of Hancocks. He would win the Kentucky Derby.Just as everyone had derisively predicted, the whole thing had seemed like a reckless folly. The market had crashed, he owed the bank millions-and he was struggling with alcoholism. There seemed to be no way out. But, so long as there are horses in your life, you can never rule out a miracle. Now, half a century after leaving Claiborne, Hancock tells the incredible story of his journey to the brink and back again. On one level, it is an intimate portrait of the American Turf, introducing some of the most colorful characters and vignettes in its history. But the underlying narrative deals in epic human themes: rebellion and redemption, addiction and recovery, desire and spirituality, discord and song. Above all, its unflinching record of every twist in the road - shameful or inspiring, tragic or comic-shows how the same dreams that can unravel a life will sometimes end up saving it.Get a signed book! Visit arthurhancock.com to learn more! Read more

"A roller-coaster ride with Nicky’s triumphs and tragedies, heady racedays and disasters, plus gives you a unique insight in to the mind of that training genius." --Ed Chamberlin"A beautiful portrait of the love between Nicky Henderson and his greatest horses. Intimate, revealing and unforgettable, with a long reach in racing but also far beyond." --Paul Hayward, five times Sports Writer of the YearNational Hunt Champion trainer Nicky Henderson OBE LVO shares behind-the-scenes stories of the dozen most extraordinary thoroughbreds that have defined his glittering career.After his early days as an amateur jockey and assistant to Fred Winter, Nicky started his own training yard, which would become the home of such great riders as Sir AP McCoy OBE, Barry Geraghty, John Francome, Mick Fitzgerald, Sam Waley-Cohen, Richard Dunwoody, Nico de Boinville and many others.From his triple Champion Hurdle-winner See You Then, Remittance Man and Nobby the sheep, record-setting Altior, Sprinter Sacre and the greatest comeback in jump racing history, to his new star Constitution Hill, the Henderson yard has been a breeding ground for success.Through exclusive interviews with Nicky and his jockeys, Nicky Henderson: My Life in 12 Horses schools us on life, sport, magic, courage, loss, hope and love. Read more

Colin MacFarlane was born in the Gorbals in the 1950s, 20 years after the publication of No Mean City, the classic novel about pre-war life in what was once Glasgow's most deprived district. He lived in the same street as its fictional 'razor king', Johnnie Stark, and subsequently realised that a lot of the old characters represented in the book were still around as late as the 1960s. Men still wore bunnets and played pitch and toss; women still wore headscarves and treated the steamie as their social club. The razor gangs were running amok once again, human waste ran down the tenement stairs, and filth, violence, crime, rats, poverty and drunkenness abounded, just like they did in No Mean City. MacFarlane witnessed the last days of the old Gorbals as a major regeneration programme, begun in 1961, was implemented, and, as a street boy, he had a unique insight into a once great community in rapid decline. He witnessed drunken fights, gang battles, police corruption and even the occasional stabbing, slashing and murder. But the Gorbals had another side: one where ordinary hard-working people were trying to survive in what was arguably once the most notorious area in the world. In this engrossing new book, MacFarlane reveals what it was really like to live in the old Gorbals. Read more

__________________The bookies always win. But one man has been proving them wrong for four decades. In the summer of 1975 Barney Curley, a fearless and renowned gambler, masterminded one of the most spectacular gambles of all time with a racehorse called Yellow Sam. With a meticulous, entirely legal plan involving dozens of people, perfectly timed phone calls, sealed orders and months of preparation, Curley and Yellow Sam beat the bookmakers and cost them millions. They said that it could never happen again. But in May 2010, thirty-five years after his first coup, Curley staged the ultimate multi-million-pound-winning sequel.The Sure Thing tells the complete story of how he managed to organise the biggest gamble in racing history - and how he then followed up with yet another audacious scheme in January 2014. Read more

'Delightful' Daily Mail (Book of the Year)'Goodwood curator James Peill writes with a wonderfully light touch . . . The Goodwood story is extraordinary and rightly celebrated' Country LifeThe history of Goodwood, England's greatest sporting estateGoodwood has been the home of English sport for centuries. The story of how a small hunting lodge became the iconic location for the globally-renowned Festival of Speed, Glorious Goodwood and Goodwood Revival events is inextricably intertwined with the tale of the Dukes of Richmond. The Dukes were, variously, patrons of the arts, political influencers, royal confidantes, architectural innovators, horticultural enthusiasts and stewards of the community. Above all, they were passionate about the sports for which Goodwood is best known: horseracing, motor sports, foxhunting, cricket, shooting and golf. Drawing upon the wealth of the Goodwood archives, James Peill vividly captures the character of each Duke, some radical and others staunchly traditional, and the wide-ranging impact they had on the Goodwood of today.The broader context is a sweeping history of England, and one family's part in it. Beginning with Charles II and his mistress Louise de Keroualle, the parents of the first Duke, Glorious Goodwood takes the reader on a journey through time, from the seventeenth century to present day, via the Jacobite Rising, the Battle of Waterloo and the First and Second World Wars. There are cameo appearances from George Stubbs, Canaletto, Alexander, Emperor of Russia, Queen Victoria, Jackie Stewart and Edward VII, who famously hosted Privy Council meetings in the Tapestry Drawing Room during race week.Glorious Goodwood is a vivid and intimate portrait of a house and its inhabitants set against a dazzling, panoramic backdrop of English history. At the heart of this colourful and compelling story is a rich sense of the British heritage Goodwood embodies. Read more

'As I left the round pen, I saw the Queen, Prince Philip, and the Queen Mother rise from their seats to come down and join me . . . With a warm smile on her face the Queen put out her hand to shake mine and said, 'That was beautiful'. She said she was amazed by what had happened and how the filly has responded, and she advised me to be proud of the work I was doing.'___________________________________________When Monty Roberts was thirteen years old he went off alone into the deserts of Nevada to watch mustangs in the wild. What he learned about their methods of communication changed his life forever.His horse whisperer powers may seem like magic, but his amazing "horse sense" is based on a lifetime of experience and a deep love and understanding of horses. He can take a wild, high-strung horse who has never been handled before and persuade that horse to accept a bridle, saddle, and rider in thirty minutes.In this remarkable worldwide bestseller, Roberts shares his unforgettable personal story and his exceptional insight into the silent language of horses and nonverbal communication: an understanding that applies to human relationships as well. He shows that between parent and child, employee and employer, abuser and abused, there are forms of communication far stronger than the spoken word that are accessible to all who will learn to listen.____________________________________________'For anyone who care about animals - not just horses, either - it is required reading' DAILY TELEGRAPH'The horse whisperer in action . . . more exciting than his fictional counterpart' OBSERVER'Riveting and inspirational' NEW YORK TIMES'Monty Roberts is the real thing' TATLER'Wild horses should not drag you away from finding out more about Monty Roberts' INDEPENDENT'This book contains some wonderful vignettes of his adventures' THE TIMES'Absorbing . . . Roberts' story is more fascinating and profound than any told in fiction . . . the kind of life-altering book you never want to finish.' SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE 'A riveting read' HORSE AND HOUND Read more

From the author of Unbroken – a major motion picture releasing in 2015 – this is the bestselling true story of three men and their dreams for a racehorse, Seabiscuit.In 1938 one figure received more press coverage than Mussolini, Hitler or Roosevelt. He was a cultural icon and a world-class athlete – and an undersized, crooked-legged racehorse by the name of Seabiscuit.Misunderstood and mishandled, Seabiscuit had spent seasons floundering in the lowest ranks of racing until a chance meeting of three men. Together, they created a champion. This is a story which topped the bestseller charts for over two years; a riveting tale of grit, grace, luck and an underdog’s stubborn determination to win against all odds.Made into a major motion picture starring Toby Maguire and Jeff Daniels. Read more

The revealing and honest autobiography of Britain's leading National Hunt trainer.Paul Nicholls is the former jockey who began training in 1991. Gradually he built up a reputation as one of the most astute and successful trainers in the business, with a special knack for getting it right on the big occasions. His depth of resources meant that on a unique occasion at Wincanton in January 2006, he became the first trainer ever to have six winners on a card. But it is for his role as the trainer of horses such as See More Business, Kauto Star and Denman, all of them Cheltenham Gold Cup winners, that he is best known.In this revealing and honest memoir, Champion Trainer Nicholls explains how he got to the top of his sport, and provides a fascinating insight into his methods and to the horses, jockeys and owners that have helped him achieve so much. Packed with insider stories that all race fans will love, and a foreword from Sir Alex Ferguson, this is without doubt the essential racing book for 2011. Read more

Beginning with Cimabue and Giotto in the thirteenth century, Vasari traces the development of Italian art across three centuries to the golden epoch of Leonardo and Michelangelo. Great men, and their immortal works, are brought vividly to life, as Vasari depicts the young Giotto scratching his first drawings on stone; Donatello gazing at Brunelleschi's crucifix; and Michelangelo's painstaking work on the Sistine Chapel, harassed by the impatient Pope Julius II. The Lives also convey much about Vasari himself and his outstanding abilities as a critic inspired by his passion for art. Read more

Back in hardback by popular demand! This is the true story of the most remarkable horse in history. In 1678, a beautiful mahogany bay Karaman colt is foaled in a stable on a feudal landholding in the Balkans. Yet this is no ordinary colt: this is a colt with a destiny.He is destined to become the magnificent Byerley Turk, the first Foundation Sire of the thoroughbred line. From his early days the young horse is hard-schooled in the disciplines of war. In 1683, in diamond and ruby-studded harness in the ranks of the glittering Ottoman sipahi, he fights as a charger at the Siege of Vienna.Seized as an exotic prize from the Siege of Buda three years later, he is ridden across Europe to the Royal Barracks of King James II in Hounslow, England, where he is acquired in 1687 by Captain Robert Byerley. In 1690, as a charger in the ranks of King William's army, he faces sabre and cannon at the Battle of the Boyne, but not before romping past the winning post at Downroyal and snatching the King's Plate. After two years of bitter campaigning in Ireland he is shipped back to England, where his owner, now Colonel of his regiment, retires him to Goldsborough Hall in Yorkshire. Here the horse is put to Stud and begins a long well-earned retirement. He died at the age of 25 in 1703.No stone marks his grave. Until now his story has never been told. But on racecourses throughout the world today, his blood thunders on. Read more

What I Love About Cricket is the story of a summer when a 'master' cricket obsessive teaches his novice 'pupil' the wisdom of the game. Sandy Balfour is cast as the supposed master and his sixteen-year-old daughter's new boyfriend - the skateboarding boy wonder - is the reluctant pupil.This beginner's guide to the infuriatingly perverse game of cricket is a love letter addressed both tothose who utterly fail to understand it and to those who need reminding why they fell in love inthe first place. What unfolds is wonderfully observed, very funny and as much about fathersand daughters, love and life, as it is about cricket. Read more

Richard Hughes, first-time British Champion Flat Jockey in 2012, is not only one of horseracing's most successful and talented riders but also one of sport's most unlikely success stories. In this sensational autobiography, Hughes gives a frank and honest account of a top rider's battle with his own mind and body. Too tall and heavy to be a jockey but too talented a horseman to be anything else, Hughes talks in detail about his life as a top jockey, his descent into prolonged and deep alcoholism, and his constant battle to keep his weight down. Shocking but also uplifting, A Weight off my Mind is the engrossing story of a man who has overcome extreme personal trauma to become a racing superstar. For fans of racing and readers new to the sport, it offers a turbulent ride. Fully updated to include his 2012 season and his record-equalling wins of seven races from the eight-race card at Windsor racecourse. Long-listed for the 2013 William Hill Sports Book of the Year. Read more

‘After all this time Frankie Dettori still ranks amongst the all-time greats of the sport’ LESTER PIGGOTT‘An autobiography as gripping as any Dick Francis thriller’ YORKSHIRE POST‘Endearingly honest… a fastpaced, funny autobiography’ COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINELegendary jockey, Frankie Dettori, shares his remarkable life story in this astonishingly intimate autobiography.When Lanfranco ‘Frankie’ Dettori arrived on British shores in 1985, aged just 14, he couldn’t speak a word of English. Having left school just a year earlier and following in the footsteps of his father, he was eager to become a stable boy and apprentice jockey, willing to do everything it took to make it. This was his first, but certainly not his last, leap of faith.Despite his slight size, Frankie’s impact upon the British racing scene was immediate and significant. Brimming with confidence, charisma and personality, and with what was clearly a precocious talent, in 1990 he became the first teenager since Lester Piggot to win over 100 races in a single season. By 1996, Frankie was already established as a celebrity in the sport and an adopted national treasure, but it was his extraordinary achievement of winning all seven races in a single day at Ascot that cemented his reputation as the greatest rider of his generation.Nearly 25 years later, and having won the Longines World’s Best Jockey for three consecutive years running, Frankie has demonstrated an unparalled level of longevity at the pinnacle of his sport. But his story is not simply one of uninterrupted success, but also of personal anguish, recovery and restoration – both in and out of the saddle.Now, Frankie compellingly reveals the lows to his highs; the plane crash that nearly killed him, the drugs ban that nearly made him quit the sport, and the acrimonious split from Godolphin that threatened his future. But Leap of Faith is also a story of love – for the sport he continues to dominate to this day, the great horses of his era (Stradivarius, Golden Horn, and of course Enable), and most importantly for his family, who have supported him every step of the way.Heartfelt and poignant, this is not simply a memoir, but a celebration of perseverance and defying the odds. Read more

The image of the Derby winner with his leg in plaster was broadcast around the world. Alongside Mill Reef stood a baby-faced man who had won the Arc, the King George, the Eclipse, and now the Derby. He trained for the Queen and Queen Mother; and Lester Piggott, Willie Carson and Frankie Dettori all rode for him, but where had he come from and how had he got there?Ian Balding's story is one of heartbreaking loss and outrageous good luck. He left Cambridge without a degree but with a rugby blue, and became one of the outstanding amateur sportsmen of his generation. Balding's burgeoning talent was quickly noticed and he was soon running Peter Hastings-Bass' stables at Kingsclere. Ian had no money and no experience of running a business, but he learnt fast. In Making the Running, Ian Balding reveals the pressure of maintaining the pace and shares the highs and lows of the sport of kings. Read more

At Sandown Park on the 25 April 2015, riding Box Office, two jumps from home, the realisation hit me. This is it. This is really the end.I was now a matter of seconds away from the moment all the numbers stopped for ever. My career total of National Hunt winners would remain at 4,348 after this, my 17,546th ride. All the stats, the numbers that had governed my life for the last two decades, they were just a few hundred yards from being stilled for ever. My whole career, my whole adult life, had been built on making those numbers click upwards as fast as I could, but in a couple of furlongs they would never move again.Deciding to retire was the most difficult decision I've ever had to make. Fortunately I was able to go out at the very top, and being able to say that makes me a very, very lucky man indeed. And now, in this book, I've been able to look back over my entire career - both good and bad moments - and see it in its entirety: the biggest wins, the disappointments, the injuries and the tragedies, my wonderful family, and the amazing horses and the fantastic personalities I've worked with.18,000 people turned up to that final race at Sandown, and I can now look back on my career with immense pride and gratitude. But that chapter of my life is closed. This book is the final word on my riding career - it's time to move forward. Read more

'An outstanding insight into the life and career of one of the greatest National Hunt jockeys. The bad days, the good days, the passion - it's all there' - Rachael Blackmore'Davy Russell's story has been the most fascinating of racing journeys, Donn McClean its classiest chronicler. It makes a National winning combination' - Brough Scott'Davy Russell is one of the most interesting characters in racing and one of the most successful National Hunt riders of our time. This is a superb book, one of the best sports books I've read' - Eamon DunphyFrom Davy Russell's early life in Youghal to his winning ride on Tiger Roll in the 2018 Grand National, this book has it all. Capturing the highs of an incredible career as a top jockey, from the adrenaline rush of winning the Grand National twice, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, it also dwells on the devastating blows that Davy experienced through injury and shows his huge resilience and strength of character.In the book, Davy tells of his years on the point-to-point scene, his big move to England and his first Cheltenham victory in 2006, his experiences at Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown Stud as the number one rider, working with Gordon Elliot, his charity work with Hurling for Cancer Research, and his retirement. It is a truly remarkable journey written by the most entertaining jockey in the business. Read more

Steve Cauthen commenced his 14-year 'English Odyssey' in April 1979. The erstwhile 'Kentucky Kid' had taken American racing by storm. A champion jockey at 17 and a Triple Crown winner at 18, the teenage prodigy became a bona fide celebrity but a slump of 110 consecutive losers saw him cross the Atlantic seeking to resurrect his career. Within weeks of his arrival 'The Kid' won an English Classic, the 2000 Guineas. He'd go on to become the only jockey to win both the Derby and the Kentucky Derby (plus those of Ireland, France and Italy); be the most recent jockey to win an English Triple Crown courtesy of Oh So Sharp in 1985; and secure three jockeys' championships - making him the only man to win titles in both America and England. Moreover, Cauthen was a supreme stylist who transformed English race-riding: his streamlined American toe-in-the-iron seat and clock-in-the-head judgement of pace sparking widespread imitation. The list of household names benefiting from his sublime talents are legion and this most articulate of jockeys recalls every one of them in his own inimitable style along with all the attendant highs and lows in this first complete retelling of his 'English Odyssey'. Read more

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN ORDINARY ANIMAL. EVERY ONE HAS A HEROIC STORY TO TELL. Discover how . . . Able Seacat Simon rescued the crew of HMS Amethyst Bobby the Wonder Dog crossed a continent to find his family Galipolli Murphy carried 250 wounded soldiers to safety Pickles tracked down the stolen World Cup And the Tamworth Two managed to save their baconClare Balding's stories of daring, courageous, remarkable creatures who changed our world for the better: from the dog that inspired Lassie to the bear that fought the Nazis. Read more