Today’s subject, another from those halcyon days of 1970s US racing, was one of those horses who will always be remembered as something quite out of the ordinary, not least for one performance in particular that had to be seen to be believed.

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Nearco wasn't just the most perfectly put-together thoroughbred in history; he was also one of the best, thanks to the genius of his breeder/trainer Federico Tesio.

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Kelso was an evergreen US gelding who transcended the sport in the late 1950s and early 1960s like few others, and whose legacy still conjures up a whole raft of loving emotions.

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Shergar's tragic fate should never overshadow the fact that, in that electric spring and summer of 1981, he proved himself to be one of the most sublime horses ever to race in England.

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During those incredible days of 1970s US racing, Seattle Slew was as good as any. Yet his career was even more of a soap opera than most, as he was often seen as a commodity first and a racehorse second.

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Today's hero was a little horse from Australia who became the best in the world in the 1950s, then spent two years at death's door before, incredibly, coming back to do it all again.

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Today we’re going to the turf of Great Britain and the early 1970s. Whilst racing has increasingly been the preserve of the not just the rich, but the very very rich, just occasionally an out-and-out champion appears whose completely bucks that trend. And one such horse was Brigadier Gerard.

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We’re back in Europe this time and the 1980s, which was something of a golden age of European milers. But at the front of that queue was an all-conquering French filly who didn’t just conquer Europe but also put her American challengers to the sword.

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This time we’ll be looking at a racehorse whose wonderful exploits ensured that his passionate nation – Japan - could finally sit with confidence at the international racing top table.

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We’re going back to the USA this time, to those balmy days of the 1960s, and a horse about whom it was often said that he could ‘Punch a Hole in the Wind, thus giving the name to this podcast and my book.

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