Book description
The sudden death of Gordon W. Richards in late September 1998 brought
a premature end to a legendary training career which had seen him rise
from obscurity to national fame as master of his profession.
Consigned to racing's scrap-heap with a broken back at the age of
29, he scraped a living as a livery stable proprietor and horse-dealer
in a remote part of Northumberland until, five years later, he
`discovered' Playlord and a new dawn broke.
Rugged, demanding, often outspoken, sometimes ruthless but never
lacking in humour, Gordon made relentless progress through the
training ranks. `The Boss', as he was widely known, liked to run his
stable his own way. Horses, not humans, headed the pecking order, as
many famous riders and owners discovered to their cost. Few escaped
unscathed, but in over 30 years he employed only six stable jockeys,
and two of these, Ron Barry and Jonjo O'Neill, gained championship
honours.
The Boss charts the successes of the man who twice saddled
more than a hundred winners in a single season and who scooped the
pool in the Aintree Grand National on two occasions. This enthralling
biography, written with full co-operation of Richards himself,
provides a compelling insight into the forces that drove him to become
one of the most respected trainers in the world.
This splendid book ... offers fitting testimony to a man with an
unconditional passion Sunday Times This is a blemish-free account of a
lifetime in racing The Herald John Budden has contributed to
The
Sporting Life
and a number of racing anthologies. He has been a racehorse commentator
since 1981.
