Well, I didn’t get lucky at the Melbourne Cup. But my enjoyment of the whole affair was immeasurably enhanced by the latest compact offering from Awa Press, Mary Mountier’s How To Pick A Winner.

Before reading this book, my knowledge of horse racing was pretty limited. I was able to tell one end of a horse from the other, and that was about it.

But thanks to Ms Mountier, I now understand the difference between bridles and stirrups, and trotters and pacers.

I know that handicaps have nothing to do with jockeys being vertically challenged. And I rejoice in the knowledge that a quinella is a type of bet, and nothing to do with the French word for ‘dumpling’.

How To Pick A Winner is a pleasure to read, like the other books in the ‘Ginger Series’. Mountier has a light and humorous style, and picks her material well: the chapters on juicy scandals and ‘unusual characters of the turf’ are particularly enlightening, and good dinner party fodder.

Highly recommended, even if you’re not of the horsy persuasion.

PS: My luck finally has come in! I’ve just won a Mac’s Brewing Starter Kit from the guys at www.fishing.net.nz. Bear with me while I get to grips with fermenters, electric heating pads and hydrometers, and set off to ‘explore different hopping processes, strains of yeasts and malts’.