DICK Francis, one of my heroes, has died, and I feel moved to pay my personal tribute to him.

Not because for over 30 years my Christmas present has been the latest Francis book which I eagerly devoured and then added to my collection to re-read again and again, nor because before he became a writer he epitomised the sport of National Hunt racing, but because of the way he handled the incident he will always be associated with . . . the collapse of Devon Loch.

Only another professional jockey can imagine what that meant, to have one hand on the holy grail of steeplechasing only to have it snatched away at the very moment of triumph. How cruel is that?

Dick Francis did not whinge about it or rant and rave about how unfair life was. He carried on racing and when he retired became a best selling author read by millions.

Oh how some of our present day sportsmen and women, who consistently rail at the injustices they feel they have suffered, could learn from this man. If ever a man followed the code of Rudyard Kipling's 'If', it was Dick Francis, and Christmas will not be the same without his annual gift.

Tony Rushbrooke

tony.claire@

talktalk.net