Claude Duval legend, including claims of alchemy, gambling, and much womanising. He is reported to haunt the Holt Hotel along the A4260 (Oxford Road) in Oxfordshire, a hotel where he spent many nights when it was a small coaching inn. Recent historians have reappraised the legacy of Duval. James Sharpe in "Dick Turpin" regarded Duval as the most significant figure in the shaping of the highwayman myth. John and Philip Sugden's "The Thief of Hearts" reconstructs what is known of the historical Duval, using much fresh evidence, and shows that the traditions about the Frenchman were used by such literary luminaries as
Dick Turpin (horse) €26,000. He entered into the ownership of John Manley and was sent into training with Richard Hannon, Sr at East Everleigh in Wiltshire. His sire, Arakan, was an American-bred horse who raced in Europe, winning the Criterion Stakes in 2004 and the Supreme Stakes in 2005. Apart from Dick Turpin, the best of his progeny has been the Toormore. Dick Turpin's dam Merrily showed no racing ability, failing to win in twelve starts. She was a great-granddaughter of Vareta, a French broodmare who won the Prix de la Foret in 1955 and whose other descendants included Zeddaan (Poule d'Essai des