Punch a Hole in the Wind

Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 50 - Allez France

Sat, 14 Jan 2023 16:27:43 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 47 - Nijinsky

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 08:39:23 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 45 - Windsor Lad

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 15:28:48 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 43 - Tom Fool

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 13:29:58 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 42 - Kingston Town

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:17:04 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 40 - Spectacular Bid

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 13:33:56 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 39 - Brantome

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 16:47:37 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 37 - Mumtaz Mahal

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 12:24:37 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 33 - Count Fleet

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 11:34:36 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 31 - Tantieme

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 11:30:06 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 29 - Secretariat

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 10:47:14 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 28 - Nearco

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 14:26:56 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 26 - Kelso

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 11:22:40 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 25 - Shergar

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 16:23:28 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 21 - Seattle Slew

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 08:46:13 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 19 - Tulloch

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 08:36:33 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 17 - Brigadier Gerard

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 08:23:30 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 16 - Miesque

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 08:19:21 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 13 - Deep Impact

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 08:07:01 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 11 - Dr Fager

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 08:01:37 GMT

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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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 10 - Epinard

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 07:58:45 GMT

This time we’re looking at the exploits of a French and European champion from the early 1920s who then, it could be argued, became the first world champion.

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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 9 - Phar Lap

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 05:08:23 GMT

His life was tragically short, his death mysterious. But the legend that was Phar Lap still transformed the Australian and then US racing scene in the early 1930s.

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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 7 - Frankel

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 14:50:01 GMT

One of the more recent horses that we'll be looking at, Frankel's amazing exploits on the racecourses of Great Britain are still fresh in the minds of many who saw him.

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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 5 - Pharis

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 12:09:47 GMT

In this episode we’re going to France in the 1930s and a mysterious horse who passed so quickly into and out of the racing scene that he is unknown or forgotten by the majority of racing aficionados. Yet there are some who swear he could have been the best ever.

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Punch a Hole in the Wind Episode 2 - Sea-Bird

Sat, 03 Sep 2022 08:23:43 GMT

A look at Sea-Bird, the legendary French colt who lit up the European racing scene in the mid-1960s.

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