No comments about Handicapper's Stakes Fes.

No comments about El Gran Libro Del Caballo / The Great Book of Horses: Razas - Alimentacion Salud Y Cuidados Basicos; Tecnicas De Doma - Como Montar a Caballo; Psicologia Equina - Hipoterapia.

No comments about Racehorses of 1996.

1 comments about Show Jumping for Fun or Glory: A Training Manual for Successful Show Jumping at All Levels.

1. This is a great book for anyone who (like me) would love to ride in grand prix's some day. It covers everything from lunging your horse over fences to free jumping to learning things like jumper turns and courses all from an experts poing of view.

No comments about Rock of Gibraltar: Ultimate Racehorse and Fabulous Prize in a Battle of Giants.

No comments about Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding: The Story of the Sport and Background of the Horse Industry.

1 comments about Ascot: The History.

1. Sir Peter O'Sulleven claims, in the foreword to this book, that Ascot is the most famous racecourse in the world. Whether it is or not, it has established itself as one of the most important racecourses in Britain over the past 200 years.
   
   Ascot's history begins almost 300 years ago, in 1711, but took a long time to establish itself. Documentation of the early history is incomplete - for example, the result of the first race staged there is not known, although a list of all the horses competing was preserved. Apparently, the person who was supposed to record the result didn't turn up to see the race. Such modest beginnings contrast sharply with what Ascot later became.
   
   This book, written with the co-operation of the royal family, explains their role down the years. You are not left in any doubt which kings and queens enjoyed horse racing and which ones were uninterested.
   
   Ascot only really started to blossom in the reign of King George III, who was the subject of the movie The madness of King George. The king was not interested in horse racing, but his son the Prince Regent was, and it was he (who eventually became King George IV) who made Ascot into a major racecourse, which it has remained ever since. The prince was also responsible for beginning all the pageantry that has now become part of the Ascot scene every June.
   
   Despite the royal patronage and the fashions, ultimately it is the racing that most of us are really interested in. Many champion racehorses have competed at Ascot and their exploits are given plenty of coverage. Although not a champion in the true sense of the word, Brown Jack was a very popular horse in the 1920's and a whole chapter is devoted to his exploits.
   
   The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes was inaugurated in 1951 and has now become Ascot's most prestigious race. Run at the end of July, it has been won by some great champions including Ribot, Nijinsky, Mill Reef, Brigadier Gerard, Dahlia (twice), Shergar, Dancing Brave, Lammtarra, Swain (twice), Daylami and Galileo. Plenty of coverage is given to this great race, including the exciting finish in which Grundy beat Bustino.
   
   Traditionally, the Gold Cup was Ascot's most prestigious race. Staged on the Thursday of the royal meeting in June, it is run over two and a half miles. It is still a race worth winning, but despite some popular winners such as Sagaro (who won three Gold Cups) and Double Trigger, this race is not particularly important these days. In the nineteenth century, horses who won the Epsom Derby as three-year-olds sometimes ran in the Gold Cup as older horses. They did not always win, but many did, notably Isinglass, the Triple Crown winner of 1893, as a five-year-old in 1895. No modern Epsom Derby winner would attempt to win the Gold Cup; the last one to try was the 1969 winner, Blakeney. The Gold Cup is given plenty of coverage in the book.
   
   Ascot has also seen plenty of champion milers, including Brigadier Gerard, Kris, Rose Bowl, Warning and Dubai Millennium, while steeplechasing and hurdling also get coverage. Desert Orchid won eight times there, including his thrilling victory over Panto Prince in the 1989 Victor Chandler.
   
   A chapter is devoted to the extraordinary day in 1996 when Frankie Dettori rode all seven winners, a feat unlikely to be matched in my lifetime.
   
   This is a magnificent book, well worth the price, which tells you everything you need to know (up to the time of publication) about one of the greatest racecourses in the world.

1 comments about Sire Ratings 2004-2005: An Update to Exploring Pedigree.

1. was awarded a 10 dollars reward for being a long waiting but never getting fool for ordering through cyberspace...boy am I pissed....they still say the book has not been released though the publisher emailed me and said it had been weeks ago.

4 comments about The X Factor: What It Is & How to Find It: The Relationship Between Inherited Heart Size and Racing Performance.

1. This is a good initial work on large heart genetics. The concepts are easy to understand with enough anecdotal text to ad interest. I was a little disappointed in the format of the index. The contents were good overall but, from my standpoint, I would have loved to have 4 or 5 generation pedigrees on all the Double Copy Mares as well as their produce information as an aid to tracing the Large Heart X-Factor into the pedigrees of my own horses. There are also several mares missing from the double copy list (notably daughters of La Troienne) who are full sisters to DC mares on the list or are by stallions who produced DC mares and by extrapolation are DC mares themselves. This book is a great starting point but I only rated it above average because there is so much more information that, if included, would have resulted in a superior text for the serious breeder. Hope Marianna Haun is writing an additional book to expound on this first work.



2. Marianna Haun's X-Factor is a starting point of information regarding the subject of the X chromosome, however, I felt the format of text hard to digest because the author's writing style is very broken up. The she wanders and comes back to the subject matter pages, and some times chapters, later. There is at least one pedigree error. Page 105 states Milan Mill is a daughter of Princequillo and the pedigree on page 106, shows her out of Caruso. Also, pedigrees of all listed DC mares would have been extremly informing and the index does not list all horses mentioned in the text. Myself being a researcher, would have liked to have had a bibliography included so I could varify the information presented. My general opinion of this work is that Ms. Haun compiled information from research work that has been done on this subject without a complete understanding of the subject matter herself.



3. The findings of a genetic link to a specific characteristic found in superior race horses is nothing less than spectacular, both in terms of significance to the Thoroughbred industry, and in the sheer volume of information that had to be researched in order to achieve these findings. In a time of genetic emphasis and the biotechnical explosion that is to come in the near future, it is amazing to pinpoint a genetic link that is recessive, yet has found it's way down the gene trail for over 200 years. I applaude Marianna Haun, as I applauded the greatest racehorse ever with the largest heart in history: Secretariat.



4. I think this book is good on two levels. As a primer for getting to know what the X-Factor is and how take advantage of it when breeding horses, I think book is essential. It also contains an absolute wealth of information that is incredibly valuable and interesting to breeders and pedigree researchers alike.

   On the other hand, I found a number of ommisions & contradictions in Mrs. Haun's logic and quite a few problems or errors in the book itself. There are points where the serious researcher will have to make leaps of faith with Mrs. Haun and other points where you'll be left scratching your head wondering what's she's talking about. I found of typos (horse names spelled incorrectly in the book AIR FORBES ONE, ISINGLAS, etc) and the general impression I got was that her work hadn't been checked thoroughly for errors or was rushed to print before it was ready. At one point she mentions that Bend Or and Gainsborough trace their X-Factor genes to the mare Pocahontas which is flat wrong. I could find no such link and was left scratching my head.

   While Marianna documents the Princequillo and War Admiral lines fairly well, it seems that there's a lack of documentation of the Mahmoud and Blue Larkspur lines. Whether this is because the author doesn't know the complete story with these lines or not is hard to tell. There also appear to be Omaha and Citation lines which she treats differently than the other lines. Unless you are an astute reader, you'll miss some of information Marianna has to share about these specific lines.

   Overall, I found the book great. I was able to replicate and validate most of the connections she made and in many cases extend them by locating additional double copy mares which aren't included in the book.

   I look forward to an update of this book with a list of additional X-Factor sires and more complete documentation.

No comments about More Dark Secrets of the Turf: Over 40 Betting Strategies.