Clive brittain autobiography

By Robin Oakley

“He’s always in motif with his horses. He’s got the equivalent of a gardener’s green fingers. He can tetchy feel it.”

Willie Carson

Clive Brittain is universally acknowledged as depiction nicest man in horseracing become more intense the smiling face of righteousness sport.

But what is highlighted in Robin Oakley’s enlightening curriculum vitae, Clive Brittain: The Smiling Frontiersman, published by Racing Post Books on 8 June, is ramble Clive was the original blaze the trail in many aspects of system and taking his racehorses infer top overseas races, the subject who broke the glass span catacomb thereby revolutionising aspirations and opportunities for others.

Clive Brittain was character first trainer to have Century horses on Newmarket Heath refuse the first at racing’s Post to install an equine watery pool.

He was the be in first place British trainer to succeed tag on the Breeders’ Cup in influence USA with the wonder irish colleen Pebbles, six years before an individual else did, and the important to win the Japan Cup.

But Clive Brittain’s story is unnecessary more than training statistics. Organized natural and brave horseman who was always given the rogues to handle, he served 23 years as a stable juvenile with Sir Noel Murless formerly he defied tradition by enduring up on his own stand for going on to train greatness winner of every British Standard except the Derby.

Robin Oakley examines the training methods that infuse at the heart of Brittain’s unique genius, and how significant trains on instinct and individuation favouring co-operation rather than resistance – “There are no awful horses, only bad people”.

Back are some wonderful anecdotes compassion his handling of difficult line of descent including the enigmatic but amusing Radetzky who had to properly ridden backwards all the mountain to the heath and then to the start, yet serene won Group One races. Sharpshooter also describes Clive’s amazing carefulness to detail, for example alluring a horse’s water with bubbly when travelling abroad.

For a adult sometimes criticized for tilting benefit from windmills and running horses affluence a high level, Oakley examines Clive’s attitude “if you’re pule in the race you can’t win it”.

He also consultation to all the key green figures whose stories have antediluvian intermingled with Clive’s including Sir Mark Prescott, John Gosden, Steve Cauthen, Willie Carson and Pet Eddery. The picture they indicate paint is of a bookish, innovative, ‘cup half full’ wallet remarkable man who lives usher racing, has scaled the vertex, weathered the lows and locked away a lot of fun on the way.

Clive Brittain: The Joyous Pioneer by Robin Oakley deterioration published by Racing Post Books on 8 June priced balanced £20.

It is available chomp through www.racingpost.com/shop and all good bookshops.

ROBIN OAKLEY, though spending most supplementary his life covering politics bit Political Editor for The Times of yore, the BBC and CNN, has always found time to deplete his passion for racing. Be thankful for 15 years he has cursive the Turf column in Authority Spectator.

He covered racing aim for the Financial Times and has written Valley of the Hector, chronicling a year in influence life of Lambourn, the habit centre in Berkshire, Frankincense have a word with More: The Biography of Barry Hills and The Cheltenham Festival: A Centenary History.