CHILDREN’S book of the week

THE RACEHORSE WHO DISAPPEARED Clare Balding, Puffin, price £10.99 (ebook £7.99) ☆☆☆★★

AFTER the success of last year’s The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop, broadcaster Clare Balding is back with a sequel inspired by the true story of Shergar, who won the Epsom Derby, and was later kidnapped by the IRA in 1983.

Balding grew up in a racing yard, with her dad a racehorse trainer, so she draws heavily on her own experiences to round out her cast of characters – strong, level-headed heroine Charlie Bass, and her annoying brothers Harry and Larry, Joe the jockey, and former actress Granny Pam.

Having surprised the nation by winning the Derby in the first book, Noble Warrior and his pony pal Percy are having a well-deserved break, until Harry and Larry convince Charlie they need to hold an open day to celebrate his success.

It goes well, but two men ask some rather searching questions. That night, as Charlie, Joe and her parents are whizzed up to Manchester to appear on BBC Breakfast, thieves break in, pinch Noble Warrior and leave a ransom note.

The race is on to find him, but where do Charlie and co begin? Like the horse himself, the story’s off at a cracking pace, with all the characters well written and believable, but Balding tends to shoehorn in references to Olympic heroes a little too often, which jars against the action.