Almanack: Postscript

Anecdotes abound about the Aintree victor, Miinnehoma, and his colourful owner, Freddie Starr: the enormous wagers; the mobile-phone interview with Des; the hosing down of the horse with champagne . . . But William Hill's man Graham Sharpe recounts the earliest Miinnehoma story of all in his new book of anecdotes from the turf, Racing Shorts. It seems that when Starr purchased the beast for 35,000 guineas at Doncaster Sales, he used an unusual bidding method: sticking out his tongue at the auctioneer.