Is an Epsom renaissance on the way?
Through 30 years of living within walking distance of the Derby course I was ever hopeful of seeing Epsom’s status…
The Mullins men are a force to be reckoned with
Where would racing be without Willie Mullins? Even for a man who regularly rewrites the record books, who has 17…
My highlights from the Cheltenham Festival
When Poniros, trained by Willie Mullins, swept home in this year’s Triumph Hurdle as the first 100-1 Cheltenham Festival winner…
The Sandown meeting that’s a good predictor of next year’s prospects
I never enter a Cheltenham Festival week without thinking of the Irish punter who won enough on champion hurdler Istabraq…
The strange superstitions of the racing world
In racing, superstitions are rife. I once saw a trainer remonstrate with an owner for displaying a green handkerchief: green,…
What has Nicky Henderson done to irritate the racing gods?
‘It may well be that true riches are laid up in heaven,’ declared the blues composer W.C. Handy, ‘but it’s…
From the army to Folly House: the story of Jamie Snowden
It is around 3 a.m. in Northern Ireland in the early 2000s as two British soldiers share a dank ditch…
Will Kia Joorabchian’s gamble pay off?
A generous new Levy deal would be nice, as would English-based trainers producing as many winners as their Irish counterparts…
Hurrah for Constitution Hill
Hallelujah, he’s back. What we needed to take racing’s attention off the miseries of inadequate prize money, shrinking attendances and…
My racing reads of the year
You didn’t want to approach Davy Russell before a race. He spurned selfies with owners and didn’t talk to the…
My picks for Cheltenham and the Twelve
With farmers outraged, the nation’s biggest employers warning the Budget will bring increased prices and lost jobs and growth out…
The brilliance of Alastair Down
Long before I could afford to go racing I began collecting racing books, my first jumble sale acquisition the marvellously…
My fears for the National Hunt Chase
World politics is dire but so long as Mick Herron is writing spy novels, David Mitchell is raising laughs and…
My horse betting farce
Somebody up there doesn’t like me much at the moment. The bank insists that two cash machines which failed to…
The joy of the early autumn Newmarket meetings
There’s no shrewder punter than J.P. McManus who likes to say: ‘There’d be many more fish in the sea if…
The inside track on racing syndicates
Billy Connolly once declared that Scotland had only two seasons: June and winter. Perversely, though, just as the northern swallows…
The new dilemma facing racehorse trainers
There is a new dilemma for racehorse trainers. ‘What do I do?’ some of them are now worrying. ‘Do I…
The fun of the Shergar Cup
Gary Lineker once summed up football as ‘a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at…
The glory of Glorious Goodwood
You wouldn’t want to have been collecting the empties from Robins Farm, Chiddingfold, last week. There is no more sociable…
Has there ever been a jockey like Oisin Murphy?
We are blessed these days with a rare stream of jockey talent including the likes of William Buick, Ryan Moore,…
Politicians have to be gamblers
Politicians pretty well have to be gamblers. You give up a promising career in, say, dentistry, teaching or accountancy for…
A memorable Royal Ascot
You tend to like a jockey who has just ridden you a 16-1 winner, as Callum Shepherd did last Saturday…
Why would Labour be anti-racing?
Enjoying the election? It was a colleague from my days with CNN who alerted me during Donald Trump’s first contest…
Why experience beats flair at Goodwood
Faced with a field of 13 two-year-olds in the British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Fillies Stakes at Goodwood last Saturday…
The early tragedy of the flat season
The Flat season proper has opened with an almighty shock and a cruel tragedy. First City of Troy, the latest…
