And it's just as rewarding to track down some of the older publications than the recently reviewed offerings, some of which have been released to coincide with the Christmas period. Indeed, it's probably best for the dust to settle, then to consider a year or two down the line whether you think they are worth a read.
Two years to the month have past since the release of ' Our Honest Charlie Wood', a book that is clearly the result of author Josephine Carr painstakingly searching through the newspaper archives to chronicle the career of a rider originating from the slums of Hull to progress to be Fred Archer's greatest rival.
He won all five English Classics, including three Derbies, but his fortunes took a severe dip when he was away from action for a decade after being warned off. The book details his fight to clear his name, the powerful, influential cliques involved in the sport, and one cannot fail to be aghast at the the mind boggling amounts that riders bet on horses in those days. Well worth a read.
It's four years since the release of Henrietta Knight's 'The Jumping Game' which is a project that the former trainer set out to complete as part of the healing process after losing her long time partner Terry Biddlecombe. It involves her visiting twenty seven different trainers in Britain and Ireland, describing their training methods and adding personal comment.
These books are rarer than one would imagine. I can recall reading a book on training the racehorse by Tim Fitzgeorge Parker many, many years back, but off the top of my head am unable to name any similar books, which makes the Henrietta Knight publication even more welcoming.
It's notable how many handlers now, influenced by dressage, eventing and show jumping, work their animals in tack to encourage them to carry themselves in the correct shape with heads low, necks arched and backs curved. Some however stick to their traditional methods learnt from their masters, such as Alan King taking forward what he was taught from David Nicholson, including the short fuse.
Gordon Elliott originally picked up plenty from what he learnt from the Pipes, but turning full circle, David Pipe has now installed a short circular gallop made from Wexford Sand, which many have copied from Elliott who has utilised this gallop to maximum effect. Willie Mullins has a similar installation and there appears to be nothing out of the ball court in his modus operandi that accounts for his devastating run of big race successes.
Henry De Bromhead, like Elliott, has paddocks attached to each box, allowing the inmates to spend as much time in the open as they wish, while Venetia Williams's charges are turned straight out into fields after work and literally live outdoors during the day, are permanently caked in mud and only groomed before going to the races.
It's fascinating stuff, it really is, and it would great if a similar publication was penned on the top flat trainers. There can be no turning out in muddy fields for the big Newmarket yards and contrasting their approach with this return to nature approach, would be a thought provoking read. A retro publication looking at the methods of the trainers of the sixties and seventies would also appeal.
On to an older publication but arguably one of the best racing publications ever, is ' Treasures of the Bloodstock Breeders Review' published in 1990 by the esteemed J.A.Allen & Co Ltd. The book is compiled by Ametican Leon Rasmussen who worked for Daily Racing Form for five decades, and former Jockey Club handicapper Miles Napier.
The Bloodstock Breeders Review was published annually from 1912 to 1979, and Rasmussen and Napier set about salvaging and reproducing the very best from the publication and have produced the best dip in and out racing book you can wish to read, and it's as good a read from start to finish too!
As an example of the delights contained in this book,there was a reproduction of an interview journalist Arthur W. Coaten conducted with legendary trainer John Osbourne jnr in 1917, the handler 84 years of age at the time. God knows what he would have made of the compressed weight range often seen in handicaps nowadays as he was bemoaning the gap from top to bottom a hundred years back and comparing it with the previous century, when a mare he trained, Alice Hawthorn, finished runner up in the Chester Cup giving away 5st 8lb to the winner!
Going back to books published even earlier, I managed to finally secure a copy of 'Classic Lines', to add to my copy of ' A Decade Of Champions' both narrated by Patrick Robinson with stunning template size paintings by Richard Stone Reeves.
And for value, many of the old Timeform Annuals are available for buttons on eBay and I have now completed my collection for the 1960's. When good condition memorabilia is available so cheaply it is a sad sign of how the popularity of horse racing has dipped compared to half a century back. I also obtained a 1965 Raceform Annual from Lester Piggott's own library for sixteen quid, signed too. And anyone doubting authenticity should maybe try sticking a book on eBay, state that it's from the library of a famous person, and see how quickly they receive contact from a legal source.
Away from racing Roger Daltrey's ' Thanks A Lot Mr Kibblewhite' was an enthralling read for those who are fans of the traditional rock bands. And for the many who are still fascinated by the Cold War era, 'Stalin's Englishman' a metacilously researched book about the life of Guy Burgess, is unputdownable. And topically, books about Australian cricketers tend to be good reads and I'm presently enjoying Mark Taylor's 'Time To Declare'. It doesn't contain the shock and sleaze element of Shane Warne's ' No Spin' but is nevertheless very entertaining in its own way.
This multilingual lady from Switzerland has enjoyed a three decade long career on the European continent and is still going strong. Let's pretend this was released in December 1974 when Captain Christy prevented Pendil from achieving a hatrick of King George Chase victories.
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