The turf
Disneyland comes to the Cheltenham Festival
Irish racing guru Ted Walsh was asked at the start of Gold Cup day if retiring champion jockey Tony McCoy…
Going for Gold
Irish racing guru Ted Walsh was asked at the start of Gold Cup day if retiring champion jockey Tony McCoy…
Racing’s biggest issue is the decline in field sizes
‘I don’t want to seem unromantic,’ said Mrs Oakley as St Valentine’s Day approached, ‘but this year please don’t buy…
Size matters
‘I don’t want to seem unromantic,’ said Mrs Oakley as St Valentine’s Day approached, ‘but this year please don’t buy…
Why Mark and Sara Bradstock have only 12 horses is a mystery to me
Some mysteries will never be solved, like why planes and boats disappear in the Bermuda Triangle, cats always land on…
The Bradstock mystery
Some mysteries will never be solved, like why planes and boats disappear in the Bermuda Triangle, cats always land on…
This autobiography written by a horse that is not as offputting as it sounds
Banks only lend money to those who can prove they don’t need it and it has not been a happy…
From the horse’s mouth
Banks only lend money to those who can prove they don’t need it and it has not been a happy…
The Grand National doesn’t need Jeremy Kyle
Never mind David Cameron. Are you participating in the Great Debate about an event of national significance that stirs the…
Best of Luck
Never mind David Cameron. Are you participating in the Great Debate about an event of national significance that stirs the…
Venetia Williams: an enigmatic woman who trains winners
Welsh Grand National day at Chepstow could not have had a better climax than the big race. After slogging three…
Conquering Emperor
Welsh Grand National day at Chepstow could not have had a better climax than the big race. After slogging three…
Christmas reading for racing folk
‘Hang on a minute—he’s a bit wobbly,’ trainer Oliver Sherwood told photographers imploring him to stand with his winner when…
Gold standard
‘Hang on a minute—he’s a bit wobbly,’ trainer Oliver Sherwood told photographers imploring him to stand with his winner when…
Silviniaco answered his critics emphatically at Haydock
‘I’m going for Al Ferof,’ said a suit in front of me in the Totepool queue at Ascot on Saturday…
The resurrection man
‘I’m going for Al Ferof,’ said a suit in front of me in the Totepool queue at Ascot on Saturday…
Robin Oakley's Twelve to Follow for 2015 (this year's came out ahead)
November has never been my favourite month, not since the time when as a Rugby-playing student my face was rearranged…
The turf
November has never been my favourite month, not since the time when as a Rugby-playing student my face was rearranged…
Maybe Mrs Oakley is right: all my tips will come in second
The novelist Anita Brookner once declared that in real life hares always beat tortoises: ‘Every time. Look around you. And…
Second best
The novelist Anita Brookner once declared that in real life hares always beat tortoises: ‘Every time. Look around you. And…
My first Arc de Triomph was a triumph
Aboard our coach from Rouen to Paris for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe our lady guide put it succinctly:…
Treve triumphant
Aboard our coach from Rouen to Paris for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe our lady guide put it succinctly:…
These are the ones to watch in the Prix de l’Abbaye and the Derby
Rightly, the authorities are doing all they can to find and discipline the disgruntled racegoer who threw a beer can…
Bronze Angel delight
Rightly, the authorities are doing all they can to find and discipline the disgruntled racegoer who threw a beer can…
When jockeys earn so little, temptation is not surprising
While Mrs Oakley was patrolling the aisles in Waitrose one day recently, I slipped off into my local betting shop.…
