Much missed

The Racing Post books teams descended on Lords Cricket Ground on Wednesday evening for the annual British Sports Book Awards.

We were thrilled that Brough Scott’s Henry Cecil: Trainer of Genius picked up best Racing Book.

The book is an absolute masterpiece, and critically acclaimed as one of the best racing books ever written.  I sent Brough an email yesterday which said:

“If HRAC is up there feeding hip berries to his fillies he will surely have realised by now that you immortalised him in a way that nothing else ever could.”

If you haven’t read the book, you simply must – the way Brough writes and the homage he pays to Henry’s genius, whilst at the same time not shirking some of the disasters along the way, is pure literary brilliance.

I finished my email to Brough by saying:

“Incidentally, I still have the rose petals in a sherry glass in my office that he gave me the first time I went to WP - although I do not have the courgette he also gave me..!”

I shall always treasure those memories of spending time with Henry, him showing me proudly round his beloved rose garden, and being on the reciprocating end of his wit and kindness. He had such an extraordinary gift with both people and horses, and when you were with him, you always had this sense that you were in the presence of someone special. 

He was not a flawless man, but he was a great one.