Royalty and the 1965 Grand Natonal race
The Queen Mother’s horse Devon Loch had severe problems, and collapsed on his stomach fifty yards from the winning post. The crowd loved this horse, and were cheering for it. Many thought that the horse was ’spooked’ by the roar of the crowd, others noticed a dark patch of damp grass, while many, including trainer Peter Cazalet, thought that ‘jumping a shadow’ may be the explanation of the Royal mystery. The horse did win grand national races for the Queen Mother and, after hanging up his hard hat and jodhpurs, Dick Francis became a successful thriller writer. Ironically his book titles include ‘Shattered’, ‘Flying Finish’ and ‘In the Frame’.