The dark horse with a hint of the devil - plus everything you need to get set for the Flat

Patrick Gilligan should be a familiar name to readers, both in his guise as a racehorse trainer and as the author of several skilfully crafted features published in the Racing Post. 

Ten years have passed since he saddled his last runner in Britain, but over the last decade he has remained close to the action, albeit in the US, where his son Jack partnered more than 400 winners on the track before rejoining the riding ranks in Britain last year.

As well as spending two years as assistant to top US trainer Kenny McPeek, Gilligan snr has been busy at his keyboard, producing numerous racing-related articles as a freelance writer, and a collection of that work can now be enjoyed in his latest book Came The Dark Horse. 

The Dark Horse to whom Gilligan refers in the title turns out to be Rushcutter Bay, easily the most talented horse the author trained during his time in Newmarket. Yet for all his ability, Rushcutter Bay came with a serious health warning, as Gilligan's relates at the start of the chapter dedicated to his horse of a lifetime. "He was the first thoroughbred I ever bought. I purchased him at auction on one bid for 450gns. And they threw in the devil for free."  

Strong-willed, unwilling to submit and acknowledging no-one as his master, Rushcutter Bay played by his own rules, but boy could he run. "By four he had become dangerous to be around. A brooding monster, stalking around his caged stall. Malevolent. Looking for a fight."

He was gelded that spring and, although the aggression remained, he went on to become a Group 3 winner at eight and raced until he was ten. It was a tempestuous but memorable journey and one which Gilligan fits neatly into just six pages.      

The tale of Rushcutter Bay is just one of a long and varied list of short stories contained in what is a very hard book to put down. There are no wasted words, no ballast, just one entertaining real-life tale followed by the next.

Came The Dark Horse

Many of his stories revolve around his time in the US and the people he has met along the way. Whether it's watching his son ride at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, cheering Eskimo Kisses to Grade 1 glory at Saratoga or visiting past equine champions at a retirement home in Kentucky, Gilligan has a way with words that takes the reader with him to each destination. So intimate are some of the memories he shares, it often feels as though you're standing right beside him as the story unfolds. 

Some of the biggest names in world racing feature, the likes of Gary Stevens, Luca Cumani and Steve and Cash Asmussen, but the chapter on Pajeen Delp, a little-known but knowledgeable horsewoman from New Orleans who died of natural causes at just 37, is perhaps the most poignant of all the stories. Blessed with a kind soul, Delp was much loved by those around her and, thanks to Gilligan, her achievements are there for all to read.

While it is not essential to read each story in the order they are presented, the route which Gilligan has laid out is an enjoyable one on which to meander along. From South Korea to the Triple Crown and Steve Cauthen to Adam Kirby, there is no guessing where and with whom you are going to end up next. 

The one constant throughout is Gilligan's son Jack. Anyone who read the author's first book, Around Kentucky With the Bug!, will already know that Jack is the apple of his father's eye. While not at the heart of every story here, Jack is never far from the conversation and seeing glimpses of his journey as a jockey through his dad's eyes is another engaging facet to a thoroughly entertaining book.

For good measure, Gilligan pays due homage to the past and the historic days when 'Old' Abe Hawkins and Jimmy Winkfield reigned in the saddle or when Pan Zareta and Tippity Witchet racked up 417 appearances between them. 

Easy and fulfilling to digest, this is a book that will not take long to consume but you will feel all the better for having done so.
Lewis Porteous

Came The Dark Horse: Horseracing Stories for Horseracing Fans, by Patrick Gilligan, is published by Random Horse Publications LLP and available from Amazon for £19.56aarongransby.com

Familiar friends of the Flat do not disappoint

Certain things are assured for racing followers at the advent of spring. The conquerors from Cheltenham are gearing up for one last hurrah at Aintree or Punchestown, the sizing up of the Guineas market is well under way and Flat trainers are counting down the days until the soft ground disappears. 

In the midst of these familiarities is the annual release of familiar titles such as the Racing Post's Guide To The Flat and the encyclopaedic Horses In Training.

The Racing Post Guide To The Flat and Horses In Training

The Guide to the Flat, expertly edited as ever by David Dew, marks the reader's card with ten trainer interviews, Paul Kealy's three-year-olds to follow, Scott Burton's French perspective, Alan Sweetman on the Irish challenge, Tom Peacock on the rising stallion Justify and Robbie Wilders' dark horses.

You will also want to pay close attention to Nick Watts's ante-post preview given he tipped Oaks heroine Soul Sister at 25-1 in last year's guide.

Horses In Training is now in its 134th year and is typically a treasure trove of intelligence for the year ahead. Almost 18,000 horses are listed in this all-encompassing book as part of an index to the horses trained in 536 yards across Britain and Ireland, including an intriguing early glance at the leading Flat yards’ two-year-olds. 

This year's runners make up the meat of the 700 pages, but editor Graham Dench also helpfully provides talking points to guide readers through the wealth of information and even more knowledge can be mined towards the back of the book, with jockey details, Derby entries, leading sires and big-race records all included to satisfy those with a niggling urge to know who holds the five-furlong track record at Sandown.
Catherine Macrae

Racing Post Guide to the Flat 2024, edited by David Dew, is published by Pitch Publishing and can be bought here for £14.99
Horses in Training 2024, edited by Graham Dench, is published by Pitch Publishing and can be bought here for £29.99

Connections, London Underground and paint on canvas, by Georgea Blakey

Equine art - but not as we've always known it

When gallery director Geoffrey Hughes says Georgea Blakey has "brought something new to the game" of equine art, he's not kidding. In no particular order, she's brought cigar bands, the Kray twins, dystopian literature, Joan of Arc, Argentinian postage stamps, Jilly Cooper, the London Underground, ABBA, Andy Warhol and Guinness beer mats, although in many cases you may not spot them until you've stood, transfixed, for as much time as you can spare.

Through the course of her one-woman show, Carousel, at the Osborne Studio Gallery, Blakey, a graduate of the Chelsea Art School, transforms collage from 'the stuff you used to have to stick on the fridge to make your kids feel good about themselves' to a vibrant, intricate and impactful medium that translates the unique and often arcane language of racing into a bright and humour-filled public forum.

From Red Rum fashioned out of Havana Club labels to a topical Celtic Raider, draped with crumpled punt notes and backed by more pages of Ulysses than any honest person has ever read, the detail is astonishing, the spirit unmistakable and the humour mischievous. It's like normal equine art, only in a way that brings the racing horse into a world we all inhabit, albeit one we may never have seen in quite the same way.
Peter Thomas

Georgea Blakey's Carousel is at the Osborne Studio Gallery, 2 Motcomb Street, London SW1 until April 12 

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