Edited sentence: A surprising number of his wins came at "working man's odds" as a result.He oozed charisma, in the way that he moved, jumped and battled in his races, and the way he reacted to crowds and cameras.He was never mentioned once in the build up to the event, and with no internet in those days, there was no help to encourage floating voters.He was surely the only horse where one could regularly witness people in the stands who had backed against him cheering for him in a battle with their own horse - this really happened.His popularity perhaps owes much to the bold way in which he was campaigned, and of course to his soundness, which meant he ran 6 or 7 times a season throughout his long career.In 1990, he finished 4th in the vote for BBC Sports Personality of the year, despite a disgraceful effort from the BBC to avoid him winning.Not only that, but every year he ran in top handicaps, conceding huge amounts of weight all round.The affection which Dessie was held in by the public hasn't come close to being equalled since.The stuffy old BBC couldn't stomach this, presumably because he couldn't give a speech or wear a dinner jacket.With even a modicum of coverage he would surely have won