A ripping yarn expertly told: part Flashman at the Races; part Seabiscuit without the schmaltz

Clee combines the story of Eclipse's racing and breeding career with the lives of those who bred and owned him, a crowd who were racy in every conceivable sense

Clee knows how to tell a gripping story: he weaves the halves together into a well-written narrative of social change... fascinating

This splendid book... This is a read bursting with life, and Clee has the balance and worldliness to weigh all his material with sense and perspective. No racing home should be without it

It brings to life a horse that has left behind a matchless legacy. For the casual reader, it is an enjoyable romp through a period knee-deep in fops, fools and fraudsters

Nicholas Clee has taken one of the greatest of all racing stories and brought it wonderfully back to life

A compelling and brilliantly researched reflection of the era which featured one of racing's most renowned equine heroes - Eclipse

Clee does a brilliant job of conjuring up the rollicking Georgian London inhabited by Dennis O'Kelly and his brothel-keeping mistress

A colourful romp through Georgian London and its scoundrels and chancers

Genuinely funny

Made me chuckle

Hilarious behind-the-scenes anecdotes

An irreverent and funny take on cycling’s biggest race from a man who has seen it up close every year since 2003

I found his behind-the-scenes look at the famous race both highly amusing and telling in equal measure

Cycling at its best is fiercely cosmopolitan and internationalist, Boulting provides the kind of commentary the sport deserves, and will need if it is to fulfil its undoubted potential to reach out and grow