Dunwoody sweet on Denman

Richard Dunwoody MBE, who again joins Course & Distance on two tours in 2010, has sided with Denman in the great Cheltenham Gold Cup debate.

The Paul Nicholls pair of Kauto Star and Denman dominate the betting market and Dunwoody, who rode the David Nicholson-trained Charter Party to victory in the 1988 race, told www.cdhorseracingtours.com: "I would like to see Denman win the Gold Cup again."

Looking ahead to our tour to Merano in September, the opportunity to travel to Italy and go horse racing seems the perfect way to spend a weekend.

Dunwoody told us: "I was lucky enough to ride at Merano on the tough and versatile Chief's Song for Simon Dow; for me it really is one of the most picturesque racecourses I've ever been to, tucked away in the foothills of the Alps.

"I also love Italy as a country and I'm very much looking forward to returning there in September."

Another date circled in the Dunwoody diary each year is a trip to the Czech Republic for the Velka Pardubicka.

Dunwoody explained: "The Velka Pardubicka at Pardubice is a race meeting that I look forward to every year and I've always tried to attend ever since my retirement from the saddle.

"There is a tremendous buzz before the race and it is one of the best spectacles in steeplechasing to watch the field streaming over the Taxis fence; it is a daunting and unique course and one of the most demanding steeplechases in the world.

"It really is a race that you've just got to go and see for yourself and to soak up the atmosphere at the racecourse - there isn't anything to compare it with. It is great racing and a fantastic weekend," he concluded.

Method In My Madness: 10 Years Out Of The Saddle by Richard Dunwoody.

Do you miss it? is the title of the first chapter, and this question lies at the heart of Method In My Madness, Richard Dunwoody’s autobiography of a decade in retirement.

Sitting on the other side of the fence Richard reveals his thoughts on how racing has changed in the last ten years and on the jockeys of today, paying particular attention to the question of who is the greatest of them all.

Method In My Madness confirms Richard remains a driven and focused individual.

Whether he is flirting with polar bears in the Arctic, enduring dramatic human tensions on the Antarctic ice, taking tea and tips from the Queen, leading riding holidays in war torn lands, walking 1000 miles in 1000 hours going nowhere in Newmarket or taking to the Strictly Come Dancing floor with Lilia Kopylova, his sense of adventure is combined with a keen sense of perspective and humour.

Method in My Madness: 10 Years Out Of The Saddle is available from amazon.co.uk and all good bookshops.