Cheltenham et Al: The Best of Alastair Down

by Alastair Down

Updated and revised. For over 30 years Alastair Down has written about horseracing with an unrivalled cocktail of wit, insight, passion and descriptive power - a combination which has brought him legions of enthusiastic readers, both within and beyond the racing world. Cheltenham et Al offers a generous collection of his very best columns, providing the Down angle on the great horses, jockeys and trainers; the famous races which remain indelibly in the sport's collective memory; the controversies; the laughs - in short, the highs and the lows of racing. By turns moving, uplifting and laugh-out-loud funny, this book provides ample proof of one racing that no one catches the spirit of racing as Alastair Down does.
Winner of the Horse Racing Book of the Year in the 2015 Cross British Sports Book Awards.

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2014

About the author

Alastair Gordon Lyell Down was an English journalist and broadcaster who wrote for Sporting Life and Racing Post and covered horse racing for Channel 4 Racing.

Reviews

[Gabbiadini · Rating 4 out of 5]

for anyone who is interested in horse racing and of a certain age this collection of newspaper articles conjures up many glorious memories . the author has a wonderful way of describing momentous events that have touched the racing family

[Nelson Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book if you want to understand not only about Cheltenham, but also about the way that trainers have worked and operated over the last thirty years. It talks of horses, courses, trainers and jockeys but mostly it shows a loved affair from a small boy to a grown man with this sport of kings. I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone who loves racing as much as i do.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly written, hilarious, sad, incisive, excellent

[Diane Judd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A celebration of a great sport

Wonderful collection of articles which I will dip into time & time again. Memories are stirred of great racing giants