ON Tony Rushmer’s book, The Triumph of Henry Cecil, has been selected as a finalist for the 14th annual Dr Tony Ryan Book Award.
Tony’s book explores the life and career of the famous racing horse trainer Henry Cecil, who trained countless champions, including arguably the greatest racehorse of all time, Frankel.
Tony, who works in sports PR and journalism, worked with Henry Cecil from 2006, where he witnessed Cecil’s incredible career resurgence after a difficult period in the early 2000s when Cecil failed to train a winner in any Group One race and was battling Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The Triumph of Henry Cecil chronicles these latter years of Cecil’s life, presenting the inside story of how he achieved the greatest comeback ever seen in the sport of horseracing.
The Triumph of Henry Cecil is one of three finalists for the award. Three exceptional books were selected from 15 high quality submissions and were evaluated based on “clarity and elegance” of writing, ability to entertain, and as always, with regard to what the late Dr. Ryan himself might have liked.
The Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award was established by the noted businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist in 2006 to honour the best books published in a given year on the subject of horse racing. Dr. Ryan attached to it a $10,000 winner’s prize, making it one of the world’s most lucrative literary awards. Winners have since included beautifully penned fictional novels and short story collections; well-researched biographies, both human and equine; in-depth sporting histories; and even a National Book Award recipient.
In a normal year, the Book Award process would have culminated this past April with a ceremony in the historic stallion barn at the Ryan family’s Castleton Lyons, near Lexington, Ky. The award has been delayed by the global Covid-19 pandemic, but the announcement of the winner will be made in November.
Congratulations and best of luck to Tony!