Centaur: Shortlisted For The William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2017 Review "Beautifully written and genuinely revealing. It is brilliant. A work of art, Centaur has a rhythm all of its own but more than that, it has an immense depth of soul and spirit. Declan has been brave enough to show himself raw, at his most vulnerable, and Ami has been clever and empathetic in her telling of the story. Together they have made magical music. The rhythm of the prose reads like a Declan Murphy-ridden race: beautiful and steady, balanced and spiritual before unleashing its dangerous sprint to the line." (Clare Balding)"Emotional and honest, Centaur is an unflinching look at how Murphy 'came back from the dead' and the heavy price extracted for doing so. Centaur is a book haunted by ghosts: lost careers, lost memories, lost friendships and, most devastatingly of all, lost love... Not only a certain candidate for the William Hill sports book of the year but also sure to be on many non-sports fans' end-of-year lists." (Sarah Hughes Observer)"A magnificent piece of work: never less than enthralling... a thing of dramatic beauty." (Mail on Sunday)"Deeply powerful, [told with] grace and poetry... an entirely gripping drama." (Sunday Express)"Brilliant, bold, at times brutal." (Sunday Telegraph)"Heart-rending... a page-turner." (The Times)"Riveting... At times, it's an uncomfortable read, but the journey from awakening from a coma and trying to piece together the absent parts of his life is truly heart-rending." (Robert Cooper, Racing Plus)"Extraordinary... It is a miraculous tale, recounted with searing honesty. Here is a book that goes way beyond the normal ambitions of the sporting autobiography and clears those limits with room to spare." (Scott Burton Racing Post)"‘Really, really beautifully written… the most riveting description. Extraordinary, quite brilliant… it’s an amazing read.’" (Sarah Brett and Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Radio Five Live Afternoon Edition)"Wonderfully written... very moving." (Brough Scott) 				    	 					 About the Author Declan Murphy (Author) Declan Murphy was born in rural Limerick on 5 March 1966. Like most of his seven siblings, he took to riding horses from an early age and after being spotted by Ireland's top trainers became a leading amateur jockey while at school. He then moved to England and rode a host of winners in races as prestigious as the Champion Chase and Mackeson Gold Cup, as well as two Irish Champion Hurdles, before a near-fatal accident on Arcot at Haydock Park in May 1994. Eighteen months later he rode a final winner, Jibereen, at Chepstow.Ami Rao (Author) Ami Rao is a British-American writer who was born in Calcutta and has lived and worked in New York City, London, Paris, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Ami has a BA in English Literature from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. As a self-proclaimed foodie, she has written before for Tim Hayward's Fire & Knives. She has always been 'absolutely horse mad' and rides regularly in her spare time. Centaur is her debut book.