Nicky Henderson attempts to whittle down the thousands of horses he has trained in his success-laden career to just 12 in a fascinating story of his life
IT must have been a difficult task for Nicky Henderson and debut author Kate Johnson to fulfil the brief of this entertaining new book.
How can a trainer who has won everything in 45 years as a trainer narrow it down to just 12? It clearly wasn't easy because they had to create an ‘afterword' chapter to get what could end up being his greatest horse of all – Constitution Hill – into the book.
But this is a lot more than a list of 12 top horses and the story of their career.
Journalist Johnson has gone into great detail about the deadly dozen and spoken to some of the jockeys who rode them as well as Henderson himself.
We won't spoil it by revealing the entire list but there are some stars that other yards would consider a horse of a career who aren't in the line-up. Who else could leave out a Champion Chaser and a couple of Supreme Novice Hurdlers?
That is some testament to the brilliant career of Henderson who has saddled 73 Cheltenham Festival winners on his way to winning five trainers' titles.
Beautifully written, this book is a revealing and intimate account of a master racehorse trainer's work. It takes the reader inside the special world of Henderson's training yard and chronicles his lifelong love affair with jump racing.
It offers insights into the delicate art of training such illustrious Cheltenham Festival winners as See You Then, Long Run, Sprinter Sacre, Altior and Constitution Hill.
There are candid interviews with great jockeys such as A.P. McCoy, Barry Geraghty and Mick Fitzgerald as well as owners and breeders who have worked with Henderson for nearly 50 years.
It describes in unprecedented detail the relationships that develop between top horses and their human carers in an elite racing yard driven to win the game's most prestigious races.
It deserves a place on any racing fan's bookshelf.
● My Life in 12 Horses by Kate Johnson is published by Pitch Publishing,priced £17.59 at Amazon and £19.99 from Weatherbys RA
