Sean Magee

In Praise of Famous Horses is an A-Z companion to perhaps the most loved of all domesticated animals. From D.H. Lawrence's horse Aaron, whose hide was posthumously made into a duffel-bag, to Zippy Chippy, fabled American loser, all the horses featured in this book have their very own claim to fame. Some - among them Bucephalas, Red Rum, Champion the Wonder Horse and Rocinante - are permanent residents in the equine pantheon. Others - such as Rossa Prince, who managed to lose a walkover - attract more qualified appreciation.Literature, history and art, battlefield, movie and television, myth, racecourse and religion are all enriched by these magnificent creatures. From A to Z, here is the wonderful world of famous horses.

Originally written in 1936 by two young Cambridge Fellows, A Guide to the Classics is a light-hearted manual on how to pick the Derby winner. However, as the tongue-in-cheek title suggested, there is more to the book than meets the eye, especially as one of the young dons went on to become, according to his 1990 Telegraph obituary, 'the greatest political philosopher in the Anglo-Saxon tradition since Mill – or even Burke'.The book takes the abstraction out of the Derby by attacking the systems which had been developed by generations of 'form' experts. It exposes theoretical solutions as fraudulent – instead it applies hard-headed empirical and historical analysis. Oakeshott went on to apply this methodology to his famous critique of 'rationalism' in politics.This long-awaited edition of Griffith and Oakeshott’s classic text includes a new preface and foreword by horse racing journalist and author Sean Magee, and political commentator Peter Oborne.

Lester Piggott is the greatest Derby jockey of all time. His nine winners in the world's greatest race form one of the most glorious and unassailable records in all sport, and the horses he rode to victory include legends of the Turf such as Nijinsky, Sir Ivor, The Minstrel and Roberto. Published to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his first victory - at eighteen years old, he became the youngest ever Derby-winning jockey on Never Say Die in 1954 - Lester's Derbys tells the inside story of each of those famous victories: the sheer class of Crepello, Nijinsky and Sir Ivor, the furious finish to force Roberto to a short-head decision over Rheingold, the dogged final-furlong battle between The Minstrel and Hot Grove, the ease of Never Say Die, St Paddy and Teenoso, the unexpectedness of Empery. Extensively illustrated and packed with insight and anecdote, this is a classic racing book. The author's first winning ride in the Derby in 1954 began a career-long affair with the Epsom Classic and this book will be published on the 50th anniversary of that first victory. The author will promote at Epsom, Ascot and Newmarket and in selected bookshops in London, Birmingham and Newmarket.

Published to coincide with the Queen's Golden Jubilee, this title is the history of Ascot from its foundation by Queen Anne in 1711 to 2002 present day. Illustrated with contemporary pictures and modern photographs, the text takes the reader through the development of one of the most famous racecourses in the world. The authors have had access to the Royal Archives and archives of Weatherbys, The Jocky Club, the Public Record Office and the British Museum. The book contains stories of the many people who have contributed to Ascot over nearly 300 years and there are equine stories aplenty. It also recounts races between many of the best horses ever known to the sport. This book is for those who love the sport of Kings and Queens.