Who is Henry Birtles, the ‘poet laureate of horse racing’?

Poet Henry Birtles was snapped as he attended Royal Ascot with his friend Elizabeth Hurley today.

Henry, 57, who was friends with Liz’s former fiance the late Shane Ward, has been close to the actress for years. In 2022, the model shared a photo of the two of them rolling around on the floor in Superman and Superwoman costumes.

The poet, who looked dapper today in a grey tailcoat, pale blue waistcoat and top hat, is thought to be single after separating from his wife Cathy in 2021.

Thanks to his writing, horse lover Henry’s nickname is The Racing Poet.

Henry, who runs a consultancy specialising in television rights for horse racing called HBA Media, wants to bring horse racing to a wider audience.

This, he attempts, partly through his poems, which, according to his website, are ‘a regular feature on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day where he recites to the crowd’. 

Describing his work, the website adds that Henry has ‘found a style to capture the heartbeat and humour of the sport’ through ‘his passion for racing’.

It says his ‘no-nonsense poems in a traditional style’ evoke ‘some of those moments and characters that have defined the sport of racing’.    

‘If you think poems should make you feel – feel without complication or a need for interpretation – Birtles is your man,’ it continues.  

‘In rhyming verse his poetry captures the imagination of the reader and effortlessly mirrors all the beauty, elegance and excitement of the racing world, both modern and historical. 

‘Although racing is Henry’s major passion, he has also written poems on a wide range of subjects including cricket, harvest, the World Cup, as well as touching odes dedicated to friends and family. There is no subject this modern-day bard cannot turn into lyrical and engaging poetry.’

The writer, who describes himself as ‘fanatical and unashamedly passionate about’ racing, says he prefers to call his writing ‘rhymes’ rather than ‘poems’.   

‘I would hate to insult the great poets and prefer to describe what I write as rhymes,’ he said on his website.

‘There’s nothing that clever about them, but I think they reflect what racing fans feel about this sport and the memories they have of some of the great horses and races that we’ve been privileged to witness.’

As well as reciting his poems at Cheltenham, Henry is regularly commissioned by jockey clubs and race horse owners.

And he has been featured on television, by channels including the BBC, Channel 4 and Dubai Sports Channel.

In 2023, Henry was invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace, which was held to celebrate contemporary British poetry.

There, he was photographed speaking with the late Queen Elizabeth II. 

As well as being known for his writing, Henry has made headlines due to his friendship with Liz Hurley.

The photograph of the pair wearing Superman and Superwoman costumes, and rolling on the ground prompted headlines in early 2022. 

In it, he was seen clasping hands with Liz, who wore nude fishnets along with an orthopaedic boot following a foot injury.

The snaps were uploaded on to her Instagram page with the caption ‘Supergirl vs Superman. Happy New Year everyone.’

It led to some rumours that the pair may an item – speculation that Henry quickly dismissed, telling the Sun about what was going on in the photo that had been taken during a recent New Year’s Eve party.

He said: ‘It was a laugh, OK, it was past midnight. Everyone had had a bit too much to drink and we had a Superman versus Supergirl wrestle and someone took a picture. It was pretty lighthearted.’

He added that he and Liz, who he said have been friends for 30 years, have been horse-racing together several times.

‘This is nothing,’ he concluded of the situation. ‘It has all just gone a bit pear-shaped.’

Henry’s estranged wife Cathy supported his claims, dismissing claims of a romance between Henry and the British model, describing the pair as ‘old friends’. 

Speaking just after the picture had been made public, Cathy told MailOnline: ‘There’s nothing going on at all, Liz is an old friend. That’s all.’

She added: ‘And we are still married. I’ve seen the photographs. If you want to know anything more, I suggest you ask him.’

Cathy, who shares three children with Henry, said she was living separately from her estranged husband, and that she had resigned two years earlier as a director from his company HBA Media Ltd.

Among some of their friendly outings, Henry and Liz were snapped at the Goodwood Festival in 2022.

The friends looked relaxed in each other’s company as they strolled around the famous race course. 

As well as partying together, Henry featured Liz in his video for his England 2014 football World Cup poem That Time Again.

That year, actress Joanna Lumley read a poem Henry had been commissioned to write about Royal Ascot.

Discussing the commission, the poet said: ‘I feel honoured that Ascot gave me the brief of “The Great British Drama” and asked me to write a poem.

‘It has a great many highlights which I believe makes it one of the greatest sporting events and this I endeavoured to illustrate.’

The poem, called Royal Ascot, described the event as a ‘Great British Drama brightly laced with reams of endless Golden thread’.