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Mr. Darley's Arabian high life, low life, sporting life : a history of racing in twenty-five horses

"In 1704 a bankrupt English merchant sent home the colt he had bought from Bedouin tribesmen near the ruins of Palmyra. Thomas Darley hoped this horse might be the ticket to a new life back in Yorkshire. But he turned out to be far more than that, and although Mr. Darley's Arabian never ra...

Full description

Main Author: McGrath, Christopher (Author)
Format: Books Print Book
Language: English
Published: New York : Pegasus Books, 2017.
Edition: First Pegasus Books hardcover edition.
Subjects:
Horse racing > History.
Thoroughbred horse > Breeding > History.
Table of Contents:
  • Part I. Roots
  • "The most esteemed race amongst the Arrabs both by Syre and Dam"
  • "The cross strains now in being are without end"
  • A groom with a view
  • A day at the races: Outwood Racecourse, Wakefield, 4 September 1745
  • "He won as many hearts in Newmarket as he lost in Scotland"
  • Part II. Rakes
  • "Eclipse first, the rest nowhere"
  • Breeding discontent
  • The way ahead
  • A day at the races: Epsom, 16 May 1793
  • The regeneration gap
  • Part III. Ringers and wrong 'uns
  • Nobblers, broken heads and the "artful dodger of the corps"
  • The west awake
  • "I see a rum set in my day...But these beat all calculation"
  • A day at the races: Doncaster, 17 September 1845
  • "Mr Palmer passes me five times in five minutes"
  • Part IV. Age of the iron horse
  • Full steam ahead
  • Old sweats and new money
  • A day at the races: Epsom, 20 May 1863
  • "She is my brood mare. the others are my hacks"
  • A day at the races: Alexandra Palace, 1 July 1868
  • "The lad rode as well as any could"
  • Part V. The fast set
  • "My God, Berkeley, this is too hot!"
  • A day at the races: Ascot, 17 June 1897
  • "He is far ahead of the lot, even with all his faults"
  • Jewels in the crown
  • Part VI. War horses
  • "All their young men are killed"
  • A day at the races: Epsom, 6 June 1923
  • "I have no method. Method is imitation. I invent."
  • Part VII. Raising the stakes
  • "Chuck, what I tol' you?"
  • A day at the races: Churchill Downs, 2 May 1964
  • "Bang him on the nose early, Bobby. Make his eyes water."
  • "They'd run through a wall for you."
  • "I'd be surprised if there's ever been a better horse."

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