Justine Legat was born and raised in Harare, Zimbabwe. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA, and her master’s at Warwick University in the UK. She then spent ten years working in the City of London before finally returning home to Zimbabwe in 2010, where she could rekindle her childhood passion for horses. Her husband was a member of the syndicate that bought Ipi Tombe at the Yearling Sales in 2000. Justine was lucky enough to meet her in 2016 in Kentucky as a retired broodmare. Mostly, she is mum to two teenagers.
This is a captivating true story about Ipi Tombe, one of the most remarkable horse racing fillies in the world. Born in Zimbabwe just before the chaotic farm invasions and the dawn of the new millennium, her incredible journey unfolds through the eyes of her fictional groom, Lovemore, along with his parents and childhood friend, James. Their journey takes them all far beyond their humble beginnings on a rural Marondera farm and the local racecourse in Zimbabwe to Dubai, London, and the prestigious horse country of Kentucky. Rich in atmosphere and deeply human, *The Dark Horse* is not just a novel; it’s a powerful exploration of belonging and ambition, of survival and friendship. It tells a story of triumph that surpasses their wildest dreams, while losing all that they had.
