Knock Down/ HB / Dick Francis

First published in 1974, Knock Down was the thirteenth of Dick Francis's bestselling thrillers set in the world of horse racing, this time taking a sharp but tolerant look at what the racehorse dealing industry gets up to behind the scenes. Steeplechase jockeys, like all other professional sportsmen, have to find a second career for themselves in due course. Jonah Dereham, retiring from the saddle at thirty-two, chooses to become a bloodstock agent and spends his life travelling round racehorse sales, finding and bidding for the sort of horse each of his clients wants.