Stone Cold - Couverture souple

It was only a horse race, but it could make Kelly Connor's reputation. Unfortunately there was more riding on Pendero's back at Ascot than a young jockey's career. There was the biggest gamble in the unsavoury life of trainer Harry Short. There was the decadent livelihood of Ibn Fayoud, the rich playboy son of an Arab sheikh. And for Jack Butler, the successful bookmaker, there was the sweetest, most dangerous deal imaginable... It was only a horse race, but it led Kelly Connor into a deadly international conspiracy of blackmail, seduction and murder.

Ex-National Hunt Champion Jockey John Francome is a broadcaster on racing for Channel 4 and has established himself as one of the front runners in the racing thriller stakes. He lives in Berkshire.