Michael Tanner

It came as quite a surprise to learn that someone intended writing a book devoted to my English-based career so many years after it ended. But it's kinda cool to know my impact on English racing was thought worthy of being recorded for posterity. And also to learn that the book had been inspired by someone's interest in sectional timing. I wasn't aware the subject was being written about back in England in the 1980s and '90s. Hopefully, people learnt something from watching me ride and judge pace by using the 'clock-in-the-head.' I feel honoured to think I left something behind in my adopted country: not just the incentive to ride and win races from the front but also by popularizing the 'toe-in-the-iron' riding style that has become so commonplace. My English career would never have got off the ground without the help of numerous people. This is an opportunity to pay tribute and extend my gratitude to a few of them. Barry and Penny Hills treated me like a son, and I love them both; Jimmy Lindley opened so many doors and educated me in the ways of English racing without which I'd have been lost; jockeys agents were novelties in England back in the 1980s but without the priceless assistance of John Hanmer I'd never have become champion jockey; my drivers John Naughton and John Barnes gave me great company and got me where I needed to go in good order. And I remember fondly absent friends: Robert Sangster put his faith in me to bring me over to England; Pat Eddery and Walter Swinburn were tough but fair opponents to ride against and brilliant jockeys both. And there's little I can add about Henry Cecil other than remind everybody what a genius he was with horses and what a loyal supporter he was of myself. Michael's well-researched telling of my 14 seasons in England is informative and entertaining; and he's demonstrated its importance to me by setting it beside the American career I left behind. I hope readers will enjoy re-living the old days as much as I have being reminded of them.

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