It’s still a busy market in the magazine world and so if you want to catch the attention of the casual punter, a dramatic cover helps. Such as this one from Horse & Hound in the run up to the 1988 Grand National, capturing the horses finding their way over the infamous Becher’s Brook the previous year.
Following up inside, John Oaksey gave us his rundown of the runners and riders, admitting that he was torn between Hard Case and Lean Ar Aghaidh as the potential victor. As it turned out, Hard Case fell at the 19th while Lean Ar Aghaidh was the last horse to finish, coming in ninth.
Rhyme’n’Reason carried off the crown, of whom Oaksey wrote, in a classic case of sitting on the fence, appropriately enough, ‘You cannot really be certain of a run much beyond the first fence – but might equally easily be backing a decisive winner.’ You can read more of the Oaksey prophecy here…
