Our last story in this series of Punch a Hole in the Wind keeps us in the 1970s, but takes us across the Atlantic to France, and a wonderful yet rather quirky racehorse who remains the highest-rated European filly since the War.

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Named after a ballet dancer, Nijinsky had both the elegance and good looks worthy of his name. He was also one of the most brilliant horses ever to be trained in Ireland.

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The mid-1930s was something of a golden age of British thoroughbred champions, and Windsor Lad was right amongst them - helped into the limelight by his wonderful owner.

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Reverting to the 1950s US racing scene today, we look at a superb, muscular colt whose 4-year-old season still acts as the sublime benchmark for older horses in the US to this day.

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We make another trip Down Under today and look at a versatile, record-breaking gelding of the late 1970s and early 1980s who became one of the inaugural members of the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.

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As the 1970s turned to the 1980s, Spectacular Bid more than lived up to his name, proving himself to be a timeless great despite the sometimes dubious behaviours of the colourful characters who looked after him.

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We drift back many decades today to the 1930s and France, where an outstanding thoroughbred was already being hailed as the ‘horse of the century’ until the most bizarre of incidents occurred, after which he was never quite the same.

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We’re going back a century this time to a British filly who not only scorched the turf during her dazzling career, but also thereafter had a profound impact on the breed as a broodmare.

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We’re back to the war years this time and the USA. Today’s subject combined two things that seem to appear in tandem so often in the great racehorses: utter brilliance and slight madness. But like so many others, these traits combined to also make Count Fleet unforgettable.

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We revert this time to the early 1950s and a brilliant horse whose arrival proved to be perfect timing in ensuring that a highly regarded race became one of the absolute highlights of the international racing calendar.

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