Tony Rushmer – författare

Dr Tony Ryan Award finalist, 2019'A wonderfully insightful, detailed and emotional biography of the legendary trainer's later years' Racing Post'[Cecil's] is a remarkable story and it has now been told with compassion, love, honesty and wonderful insight by Tony Rushmer' David Walsh, Sunday TimesWith a foreword by John GosdenWhen Henry Cecil sent out just 12 winners in 2005 it seemed as if the 10-time champion racehorse trainer's career was in terminal decline. The masterly touch that he'd shown through the glory-days of the two previous decades appeared to have deserted him after a series of painful professional and personal blows, including the death of his twin brother David. When Cecil was diagnosed with cancer in June 2006, it would have been enough to break many a man. But behind the scenes, the master of Warren Place in Newmarket was determined not to be labelled - in his words - a 'has-been'. Showing an iron resolve to fight for his professional reputation as well as his life, Cecil staged one of the great sporting comebacks. It was a story that captured the imagination of the racing public and beyond, peaking with his supreme handling of the unbeaten champion Frankel. Cecil's astonishing revival was witnessed in close-up by Tony Rushmer. The sports journalist became a trusted stable insider after being engaged in spring 2006 to help with the trainer's website and PR. He would remain part of the team right up until Cecil died in June 2013. Rushmer's unique access over seven years - in which he saw Cecil at the best and worst of times - allows him to provide a fresh perspective on an incredible part of the trainer's career. He is helped by many of those who were closest to the story, having interviewed numerous people during his extensive research. Containing fascinating detail and a wealth of new material, The Triumph of Henry Cecil shows how Cecil emerged from his slump, displayed relentless strength in the face of a cruel disease and trained the magnificent Frankel - as brilliant a racehorse as the sport has ever known.

The biography of remarkable SAS Original Reg Seekings, from his humble beginnings in the Cambridgeshire Fens to his instrumental role in the success of the SAS during the Second World War. Starting at the very bottom of the ranks, Seekings was a farm labourer’s son who climbed from private to squadron sergeant-major and became one of the British Army’s most highly decorated non-commissioned officers of the Second World War. In short, Seekings was an ordinary man who did extraordinary things. His is a remarkable story – one of fierce ambition, camaraderie, inner strength and heroism as he transcended humble beginnings in the Fen fields of Cambridgeshire. And he was there from the very first day of the SAS, which was born in the late summer of 1941. Using audio material from the Imperial War Museum and previously unseen material from Reg’s collection of notebooks and handwritten accounts of operations, this is a comprehensive and engaging portrait of one of the unit’s all-time greats.