In The Company of Strangers

He's better known in the turf world (he's a veteran racing and trotting journalist as well as part-time breeder/trainer/harness driver) and as a Masters Games medallist (mainly hurdles).

But more recently he's turned his hand to reflections on love, philosophy and life.

The Melburnian's second book, In The Company of Strangers, is a blend of poetry and short stories, some with a sports base but others covering a range of subjects.

Particularly haunting is his "The Tree on Gibbet Hill", directed to a lone tree in Tasmania from which executed criminals were once hung: "... Days when you bore your dreadful fruit,/When human life you craved,/When haunted, hell-bound sinners you/Denied the very grave."

Others deal with ageing, loss and sadness, such as "When Dark November's O'er", written after he visited the grave of his parents, and the wistful "When We were Twenty-One", a reminiscence of lust unrequited.

Trembath describes his stories as "creative non-fiction".

"A Mug's Game" returns him to his old stamping ground of the turf, as does "Rest Easy, Girl", about the death of his fïrst horse.

"The Race", meanwhile, has him back on the track - this time in a marathon.

With the thoughtful yet engaging In The Company of Strangers, Trembath is on a career winner again.