THE RACEHORSE SANCTUARY has a duty of care to close on 90 thoroughbred horses. Over 50 of these, out of over 150 successfully rehomed by the charity, are still alive and kicking. We always hope that they will never have to come back to us, but we guarantee their lifetime welfare, if their dedicated keepers fall on hard times. We URGENTLY need donations to underpin this guarantee, especially in these coronavirus benighted times, when we face a significant black hole in our finances.

Sadly, just over a month ago our worst fears were realised when Monica, Opus and Joe, the poster horses for our appeal, had to return to the Sanctuary. Redundancy and isolation compounded by family problems brought their keeper to despair as she tried to do the best for her charges, before she finally decided she had to part with them. Our appeal cover photo shows the horses back at the Sanctuary, having their evening feed in their new paddock: that's Monica on the left, Opus in the centre and Joe on the right.

Please donate what you can to help Monica, Opus, Joe and all the Sanctuary horses. We have pared our operational costs to the bone without sacrificing the welfare of our horses. All your donations will go directly to their care.

You will be joining John Collins, boss of Telacrest, to whom we owe our sincere thanks for kick-starting this appeal with a share of a very generous £50,000 pot he is donating to animal charities dear to his heart this Christmas. John normally dreams of more substantial horsepower in the form of Classic Ferraris, but he clearly has a sneaking admiration for the thoroughbred athlete.

A copy of Johns book DEALING IN DREAMS would make an ideal Christmas present for the petrol-heads in your family. It provides a fascinating insight into the world of dealing in classic collector Ferraris and other exotic cars, telling the inside story about John Collins and Talacrest, from its beginning to present day and is also a wonderful catalogue of the world's most fabulous cars that Talacrest and John have been involved with. Sales proceeds are split between The Racehorse Sanctuary and the Air Ambulance.