“And the Queen Mother said, ‘Well, what happened, Dick?’ And he said, ‘Well, I really don’t know. The horse didn’t jump, it wasn’t as if he jumped a shadow.’

Horse & Hound | Dick Francis Podcast

Feature: Horse & Hound
Words: Pippa Roome

One can imagine that a huge win would be the defining moment of any sportsperson’s life… it’s an unfortunate athlete for whom a high-profile failure becomes that moment. But, according to his son, so it was for jockey Dick Francis, who was champion jockey in 1953-1954 before becoming the best-selling author of equestrian novels, such as Dead Cert, Whip Hand and Odds Against.

In an episode of The Slightly Foxed Podcast, Dick’s son Felix talks about the spectacular collapse of Dick’s ride Devon Loch when the Queen Mother’s horse looked nailed on to win the 1956 Grand National . . . View article

‘Well, if you’ve half written your autobiography you must be able to put a few words together. Would you write half a dozen articles for my newspaper?’


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