Foinavon

Download or read book Foinavon written by David Owen and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-04-11 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was the upset to end all upsets. On 8 April 1967 at Aintree racecourse in Liverpool, a 100-1 outsider in peculiar blinkers sidestepped chaos extraordinary even by the Grand National's standards and won the world's toughest steeplechase. The jumps-racing establishment - and Gregory Peck, the Hollywood actor whose much-fancied horse was reduced to the status of an also-ran - took a dim view. But Foinavon, the dogged victor, and Susie, the white nanny goat who accompanied him everywhere, became instant celebrities. Within days, the traffic was being stopped for them in front of Buckingham Palace en route to an audience with the Duchess of Kent. Fan mail arrived addressed to 'Foinavon, England'. According to John Kempton, Foinavon's trainer, the 1967 race 'reminded everyone that the National was part of our heritage'. Foinavon's Grand National victory has become as much a part of British sporting folklore as the England football team's one and only World Cup win the previous year. The race has even spawned its own mythology, with the winner portrayed as a horse so useless that not even its owner or trainer could be bothered to come to Liverpool to see him run. Yet remarkably the real story of how Foinavon emerged from an obscure yard near the ancient Ridgeway to pull off one of the most talked-about victories in horseracing history has never been told. Based on original interviews with scores of people who were at Aintree on that rainswept day, or whose lives were in some way touched by the shock result, this book will use the story of this extraordinary race to explore why the Grand National holds tens of millions of people spellbound, year after year, for ten minutes on a Saturday afternoon in early spring.

Download or read book Incredible Moments in Sport written by Ian Slatter and published by Ian Slatter. This book was released on 2017-01-02 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The unbelievable roar as Mo Farah sprints clear to claim 10,000 metre gold on Super Saturday. A nation holds its breath as Andy Murray has Championship Point at Wimbledon. Europe's golfers come back from the dead to win the Ryder Cup. Lewis Hamilton clinches the World Championship on the final corner of the final race. Bradley Wiggins crosses the line on the Champs Elysees to become the first British Tour de France winner. Some sporting events stick in the memories of sports fans forever - sometimes for the right reasons, sometimes the wrong ones. Incredible Moments in Sport is the perfect reminder of the 101 Biggest Moments in British and World Sport, featuring greats such as : - Usain Bolt - Muhammad Ali - Ian Botham - Torvill and Dean - Jesse Owens - Borg and McEnroe - Diego Maradonna - Red Rum - Michael Phelps - Steve Redgrave - And many, many more. With 101 incredible stories from the worlds of football, rugby, cricket, tennis, boxing, cycling, swimming, athletics, horseracing, motor racing and other sports - the build-up, the events themselves and the aftermath. If you're a sports fan - this book is for you!

Download or read book The Little Book of Horse Racing written by Anne Holland and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2014-10-06 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you know what the oldest horse race in Britain is, where the term 'gee-gee' comes from, or who is credited with bringing racing to Ascot? Fact-packed but light-hearted in style, this reliable reference book and quirky guide reveals little-known facts, details of classic races, famous riders, racing records, amusing anecdotes and criminal goings-on. A compendium of the fascinating, strange and entertaining, The Little Book of Horse Racing can be dipped into time and time again to reveal something new about this ancient sport.

Download or read book An Irish Country Practice written by Patrick Taylor and published by Forge Books. This book was released on 2017-10-10 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Irish Country Practice is the twelfth heartwarming installment in New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author Patrick Taylor's beloved Irish Country series. Once, not too long ago, there was just a single Irish country doctor tending to the lively little village of Ballybucklebo: Doctor Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly. Now his thriving practice is growing by leaps and bounds. Not only has O’Reilly taken a new trainee under his wing, Doctor Connor Nelson, he’s also added a spirited Labrador puppy to his ever-expanding household at Number One Main Street. Meanwhile, his trusted partner, young Doctor Barry Laverty, finds himself wondering if he’s truly ready to settle down and start a family with his lovely fiancée, Sue. As the doctors cope with domestic and professional challenges, they also look after their patients and their ailments, including a mysterious cough, a housewife whose frequent “accidents” may have a disturbing cause, and a respected colleague who might be succumbing to an old vice. All is not sickness and worry, however. There’s plenty of joy and merriment to be found as well, from a visiting circus to racing to sailing . . . and maybe even a happy ending or two. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Download or read book The Grand National written by Anne Holland and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2019-10-24 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every year the Grand National produces very different stories from jockeys and horses alike; uplifting scenes from a victor and heartbreak when a mere inch divides the loser from the winner at the end of nearly four-and-a-half miles and thirty challenging fences. In 1839 the first winner was aptly named Lottery. Back then, huge crowds rode to Aintree by horseback, in carriages, carts or on foot. Today the Grand National is probably the world's most famous horse race, with a global television audience of some 600 million in 140 countries. This richly informed book focuses on the race's various record-breakers, rather than being a purely chronological history of this greatest of all steeplechases. Many records have stood the test of time: in 2019, Tiger Roll's second consecutive victory was the first time that the feat had been achieved since Red Rum in 1973-74. Anne Holland's authoritative history celebrates one of the world's greatest sporting spectacles. 'A well-organised and cheerily anecdotal volume' Spectator

Download or read book In Praise of Famous Horses written by Sean Magee and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2020-10-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Horses is an A-Z companion to perhaps the most loved of all domesticated animals. The book's entries include a wealth of unexpected, fascinating and serendipitous information, from horse-slang phrases to horses in British pub signs, and from the horse in advertising to the horse as a food item. Themes such as the horse in warfare and the horse in folklore abound. These features add up to a richly satisfying accumulation of information about the horse's role in human culture and society over two millennia. Horses will not only be a helpful reference source and congenial bedside book for those who work with or enjoy horses, but also a satisfying and browsable companion for the inquisitive general reader.

Download or read book Mud, Sweat & Gears written by Ellie Bennett and published by Summersdale Publishers LTD. This book was released on 2013-05-01 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The tale of a scenic cycling trip—including an index of the 50 finest beers tasted on the trip"One more wouldn't hurt," said Mick. I looked at him doubtfully. "I'm not sure. It's gone three o'clock already. What time does it get dark in Cornwall at this time of year?" "Not for ages," said Mick, waving his hand dismissively. "One more and then we'll get on." He headed back to the bar with our empty beer glasses.As Ellie's 50th birthday approaches and her ambitions of a steady income, a successful career, and an ascent of Everest seem as far away as ever, she begins to doubt she's capable of achieving anything at all. So when her best friend Mick suggests a grueling cycle ride from Land's End to John O'Groats, she takes up the challenge. They opt for the scenic route which takes them along cycle paths, towpaths, and the back roads and byways of Britain, unable to resist sampling local beers in the pubs they pass along the way. But as the pints start to stack up faster than the miles they’re putting under their tires, Ellie wonders if they'll ever make it to the finishing line.