This is the horse that first captured my attention as a five or six year old kid. You can use all the superlatives you like about Dessie, but, put simply he was a true great, along with Red Rum the most popular British horse of all time, and very certainly one of the best. He gained the iconic status that Flat horses never manage to accrue, and was taken to the publics' heart. His colour helped, obviously, but his courage, flamboyance, style and brilliance were also crucial.
One in a million and he will be very sadly missed.
To try and guage just how popular he is in Britain, just take a look at the front page of today's Daily Mirror.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/front/