Richard Dunwoody's Blog by Richard_Dunwoody

Getting an edge, no matter how small, is vital to sportsmen. Diet is critical, even though incredible men like Lester Piggott (see piccie) were renowned for getting by on a cup of coffee, cigars and champagne! While my natural weight is around 12st, I always had to ride much lighter than that. I tried to eat as normally as possible, with perhaps just a piece of toast for breakfast and swapping red meat for fish and chicken. Nowadays I try to eat as normally as possible and I have a reasonably healthy diet, though I am not sure I always get my 5 a day. When trying to lose weight, everyone will tell you something different: “Eat this oil but not this one,” says a gym trainer. “Eat whatever makes you happy,” says your mother. “Eat whatever says ‘light’ on the pack,” says the food industry. “Run like mad and push yourself as far as you can,” shouts another gym teacher. “Don’t push yourself too hard, just walk a bit and do this more regularly,” says a doctor.

It is difficult to know what's right and what isn’t. Cardio exercise is a key factor in helping you lose weight. More total calories and more fat calories are burned off with higher intensity work-outs. This isn’t to say that low intensity exercise doesn’t have its place. In fact, endurance workouts should be a staple of a complete fitness program along with shorter, higher intensity workouts. Those who play sport are given all sorts of advice. The right nutrition fuels training. Training fuels confidence. And confidence is a great edge. It is odd to see, for instance, American Footballers who have buckets of Gatorade on the sidelines. It is loaded with sugar, so if they drink it during the game, at some point they will have an insulin crash and become tired. According to former American Football Bill Romonowski, one of the best diets for athletes who need to sustain energy levels is a basic concoction – a soup of brown rice, potatoes, sirloin, onions, fresh peas and carrots. He said: “Each of the foods has a different glycemic burn to it. When the brown rice wears off, the potatoes will take over. When the potatoes wear off, the sirloin will take over. Then the vegetables will. You could really feel the difference in your energy levels in the second half.”

But for me, the simple answer to lose weight is cut down on food, limit the calories. And exercise. Admittedly, I’ve put on a few pound of late, but I will be in Mongolia and Afghanistan for a couple of months during the summer, so it may well come off again. There have been a number of recent attacks on foreigners by Afghan security personnel and that is alarming. There have been a lot of Afghan police and civilians killed. Everyone says the situation is worse, and the rising death toll bears this out. On Tuesday, for instance, eight foreign troops and a contractor were been killed by an Afghan air force pilot at Kabul airport. Last November, an Afghan policeman killed six US soldiers. The attackers are sometimes actually members of the Afghan security forces, and sometimes insurgents impersonating servicemen. It is very sad, especially since Afghanistan is such a beautiful country and the majority of its people so welcoming.

Next month I’m off to Bamiyan for a tourism conference. Bamiyan lies approximately 240 kilometres north-west of Kabul. There are plans for new hotels in that region of the Panjshir Valley and visitors can ski in both Bamiyan and the Salang Pass during the winter months, and the Wakhan Corridor. My destination in July is ripe for trekking, climbing and riding. Band-e-amir, 70km from Bamiyan, is one of the most beautiful lake districts in the world. Despite its situation, Afghanistan is a fascinating country and I can’t wait to return there. On Sunday, I was at Hoppegarten, where Lester Piggott was guest of honour. He was looking extremely fit and well, and was there to present the trophies for the main event, the Hoppegartener Osterpreis (Easter Prize). It was also good to catch up also with Vincent Rossiter, who rode with Lester in the glory days when they were both at Vincent O’Brien’s yard.

Hoppegarten itself is a beautiful track nestled in woods on the East side of Berlin and the crowds have been above average for the first two meetings of the year, largely due to the leadership of London-based Gerhard Schöningh. Under his guidance, Hoppegarten has become one of the most go-ahead racecourses in Germany. Almost 10,000 saw top sprinter Overdose hack up two weeks ago and there were around 8,000 to see Lester. Unfortunately prize money has been small so far this season but 70,000 Euros is up for grabs in the fillies’ race – the Diane Trial – next month and the Grosser Preis von Berlin in July is worth 175,000 Euros. Both races should see challengers from both England and France.

I watched Manchester United beat Schalke 2-0 in the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night. After yet another disappointing result for the Gunners on Saturday, it looks like United will win the Premier League as well. Arsenal must be the only team who can finish third in a two-horse race! You have to marvel at Ryan Giggs. To keep playing at the top level and to keep putting on consistently outstanding displays at the age of 37 is testament to how well he looks after himself. Sir Alex Ferguson has virtually ruled Giggs out of Sunday’s crucial Premier League trip to London to take on Arsenal, which at least gives the Gunners some hope! Victory for United would keep them at least six points clear at the top with only three games to go.

Talking of evergreen sportsmen, there is always a lot of rubbish written and said about those who attempt to make a comeback, the underlying suggestion is that they shouldn’t ever contemplate it. Yet you’ve only got to look at Lester Piggott and Mark Todd – who won Badminton for the fourth time in his career on Sunday, at the age of 55, some 31 years after his first victory there – to know that age is not always a barrier. I am going to Down Royal Racecourse this weekend. It is my father’s memorial race on Monday. Dad was born in Monaghan and rode and trained over 100 winners from his bases in Northern Ireland. A widely respected amateur jockey, Down Royal was the course on which he rode a winner in his fifties. It is always a pleasure to go there and I’m looking forward to the day.