IN 1931 at the height of a world depression, an Italian immigrant to London found himself in the possession of an Irish Sweepstake ticket for the English Grand National. When his horse, Grackle, duly did the business Emilio Scala collected a cool £375,000.

His subsequent adventures are colourfully recorded in an entertaining book titled The Luckiest Man In the World, which charts the Scala family history from Italy to a hidden corner of Carlow.