Sir Rupert is in a unique position to write this book and many will see it as semi-autobiographical in places. He went to Harrow with the likes of racing journalist John McCirrick, Desmond Stoneham and Julian Wilson. He was riding in gallops by the age of 16 and won his first point-to-points while still at school. After school, he spent most of his time riding and racing. By the mid 1970s he was in London running an office of a financial institution in the city, which was heavily connected with the Mafia. This connection soon forced him to leave the country, in fear of his life. It also led to a warrant for his arrest by the Metropolitan Police who were interested in what his work had involved. He went to Rhodesia and became one of the most successful smugglers in Central Africa. In 1979 in an ill-timed attempt to please Margaret Thatcher's new conservative government, the Smith Regime tried to use Sir Rupert as a political pawn by offering to return him to the Metropolitan Police. The resulting attempt to force him back to England failed when Sir Rupert fought his way off a British Airways plane whilst it was at Jan Smuts Airport, South Africa. A de jure attempt at an illegal kidnapping by the Metropolitan Police, Foreign Office, Rhodesian and South African Governments had failed. Since returning to England Sir Rupert has written a number of books. No one knows more about the history of gambling, especially crooked gambling, than Sir Rupert. He was responsible for the highly successful set of books Great Racing Gambles and Frauds.
