In horse racing greatness is defined by speed. Being the second fastest counts for little. You have to win. And win. And keep winning until every challenger of your generation is put to the sword. Of the 12 horses lined up on Newmarket Heath that 2011 day, one would do just that. And more. To become the greatest racehorse that has ever lived. Frankel was born on 11th February 2008, with four white socks and a blaze, from impressive equine lines on both his parents’ sides. Simon Cooper revisits the whole of the horse’s life, giving listeners an inside tour of the calm oasis that is life on a stud farm, where a foal will live with his mother for the first year of his life. Next, the atmosphere of heady possibility that marks the early days of training. Roadwork. Gallops. Trials. Turning raw potential into something more. Frankel begins to set himself apart. A detailed and fast-paced narrative breathlessly recounts the racing career of the horse who, by his retirement to stud at the age of four, would be rated the greatest of all time. Cooper weaves the horse’s tale with those of his trainer, battling cancer, the stablehands who coped with his explosive nature, the work rider who tamed him, the jockey who rode in all 14 of his races and the owner who saw his potential from the very beginning. The result is a rich and multifaceted tale of modern horse racing, the lives of everyone involved, human and equine, and the unadulterated glory of winning. And winning everything. | Frankel by Simon Cooper, Audio Book (CD) | Indigo Chapters