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Brod was genuinely one of a kind. On the one hand he was unconventional but, on the other, very traditional. Life with Brod was certainly more interesting not less interesting. A prolific networker - he loved to make introductions - business was done over a nice lunch at Scott’s and deals sealed with a handshake.
He believed the world belonged to optimists and so he lived life with his glass half full - always looking on the bright and light side of life. Every encounter with Brod was a full-on engagement of bonhomie.
He loved to give advice and he loved to help and mentor, especially a generation younger than himself. He had a big heart and although he wasn’t perfect, he touched and enriched all our lives.
One of the best examples of this was the enjoyment he gave to so many with his racing, which perhaps he loved this more than anything else. I don’t have space to mention all his racing successes but his two consecutive wins of the Grand Military Cup on his own horses and all his legendary rides on the Drunken Duck will be forever memorialized. It is fitting that his ashes were scattered at the finishing post at Sandown Park.
His other lifelong passion and devotion was to Spurs. Brod belonged at White Hart Lane. This was home from home. Football to Brod was a visceral experience of faith. His bathroom is covered in ‘come on you spurs’ wall paper.
He loved listening to live music especially the choirs at Grosvenor Chapel in South Audley Street and at St Brides in Fleet Street, but his greatest joy was to listen to his daughter, Emma, sing. There was no mistaking his love and pride for all his grandchildren.
We will remember Brod for his joyful, maverick and buccaneering spirit, his charm, his good looks, his wit, and above all else, for his infectious enthusiasm for everything he did.