Ignore ‘selling plates’ and let thoroughbreds shine through

IT WAS often a source of bemusement for the wonderful Marcus Dunlop (RIP) that when it came to racehorses, the more he knew, the less he won.

Marcus was a family friend. A Protestant raised on the rich, dark soil on the banks of the river Faughan, he was sent to Trinity College in Dublin. His family had hopes, albeit faint ones, that he might become a minister.

It was an unlikely vocation and Marcus returned from the Catholic south with his love of both literature and gambling vastly enriched.