The great-great-granddaughter of former Prime Minister and famous Gwynedd son, David Lloyd George, has been named on the longlist for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year.

Fourteen books have made this year’s longlist, including two-time winners Donald McRae and Duncan Hamilton who are both vying to claim a historic third title. Competing alongside them is equestrian Lara Prior-Palmer who has relatives in Criccieth.

A further shortlist will be announced on 22 October ahead of the 31st annual awards ceremony on Thursday, 5 December.

The longlist, announced on Tuesday, 24 September, also includes memoirs from Eniola Aluko and Andy Lee. All 14 writers are competing for the £30,000 cash prize.

A record number of submissions - 151 - were considered for this year’s award, which is considered to be sports-writing’s most valuable and prestigious prize, and Lara is delighted to have been recognised for her book, Rough Magic: Riding the World’s Wildest Horse Race (Penguin Random House).

“It’s wonderful to have been longlisted, especially for a sporting prize, because this book is quite a literary one really, so it’s great that it has been appreciated.

“It’s also the first book I’ve written so it’s very exciting and a real surprise.”

Resilience is at the heart of Lara’s account of becoming the youngest winner of the 600-mile Mongol Derby aged 19 in, an unexpected journey tracing the beauty of the steppes as well as the harshness of this gruelling race.

The Mongol Derby is the world’s toughest horse race.

A feat of endurance across the vast Mongolian plains once traversed by the people of Genghis Khan, competitors ride 25 horses across a distance of 1,000km.

Many riders don’t make it to the finish line.

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