Arkle. Four decades after he raced, his name continues to reverberate in the folk memory of horseracing. Every true jumping fan still goes misty-eyed at the mention of the horse known simply as "Himself". In the Racing Post favourite racehorse poll in 2004, he won as emphatically as he had won so many big races. But he has long been more than just a famous racehorse. He was - and remains - a national hero in his native Ireland and an equine icon the world over. There has never been a horse to match him, in racing record or in the public affection. This wonderful new book celebrates the greatest of all chasers in words and in a superb collection of photographs and paintings, many never previously published. It is a fitting tribute to the horse of whom the Racing Post wrote: "We have not seen his like since - and nor are we ever likely to."

SEAN MAGEE is the author of many books on horse racing, most recently Ascot: The Official History (2002) and Lester's Derbys, written with Lester Piggott (2004).