When I finally stepped down last night/this AM, I was soaked between office and bed. This morning, the going has changed and Lingfield is now
It’s been a strange week. I tried to get involved at Chester but several working challenges presented themselves, so I didn’t. Obs, I kept up
I know, I know. I was going to take a day off. But lying abed, feeling sorry for oneself, only works for so long, and
For those of you eagerly anticipating the tips for Day 4 of Punchestown, I’m afraid I was laid low by Jab 2 and am not
Another day, another jab, so far so good. However, as days go this has so far been relentless. Over an hour to get to the
At the risk of sounding like a trainer, this is a difficult time of the year to get things right. Old stock is replaced with
Over the next five days, we’ll see the lowering of the curtain on the Irish National Hunt season. We’ll see Rachel Blackmore trying to make
The social whirl of dinners and drinks invitations this week suggested post-lockdown merriment is an unstoppable train. We have been flat out on the supper
With the void left by Polly Dog and The Duke of Edinburgh, across our personal and national psyches, the unelected medical elite has decided to
Today we sadly lost Polly, a rescue Cocker, who was with us for 14 of her 16 years. She has gone to join Biggles and
The tips for today’s TV racing are here. Very brief. Will explain more tomorrow.
What a lovely thing to see young Jack Mitchell power ahead yesterday in the 3:55. He was always a good little jockey even when a
The Golf was not horrendous and for a brief moment, I thought Hideki might falter, allowing Jordan a chance. However, like the coward that I
Yesterday, part of the Oxfordshire internet went out and cut the Chateau d’If off from the rest of the world. By standing on the roof
Yesterday, or rather the very early morning, started badly, as I found myself working in the very early hours to meet an 08.00 deadline. I
I exercise a great deal of caution about wandering around the village these days, for fear of being accosted, and then denounced, as an agent
I know it only seems like six months ago, (it was), that the Augusta National Golf Club gave the Green Jacket to Dustin Johnson and,
AGE 24/29 (14/17) Aged 9 or older BETTING 23/29 – Returned a double-figure price 21/29 – Came from outside the top 3 in the betting
We didn’t start Easter thinking we’d be saying goodbye to Richard Johnson, who retires upright and walking, and capable of a new full and productive
Many of you will know the music of the much-inked Rag’n Bone Man, and especially his hit lament called “(I’m Only) Human”. A reviewer said
Good Friday, and Europe is awash with Fiestas and Fetes celebrating Holy Week. It’s a time of year when I might reasonably consider that the
If I’m honest, the first couple of days of Cheltenham were spent in a state of bewilderment. Despite God and Government, we were alive although
A two-parter this week – Tips and comment on Cheltenham. This first, though, as they’re almost OFF for the first day of the 2021 Flat
On my knees, despite eight hours of sleep and a working man’s breakfast. Only just midday, and I have already had a business meeting; given
One of my readers, the one who doesn’t live in North Wales, sent a note to remind me that Beau Geste, who I mentioned yesterday,
With the sad inevitability of the unsinkable ship travelling at speed and an enormous stationary iceberg, I suspect my Cheltenham maybe gashed below the waterline.
I have not yet had the chance to congratulate myself for tipping and Brian Harman for playing into his 3rd place in TPC. A 175/1
The girl in the picture is Elvira, whom I have mentioned ante scriptor. She turned up rather suddenly, refused coffee, and then said nothing, but
The Augustinian, German theologian Martin Luther was known for his well-meant interference in early 16th-century religious beliefs, and his fanatical hatred of Jews, Catholics, Anabaptists,
This week I have started the heavy-lifting for the Cheltenham Festival. Just as I got my metaphorical crayons out I became involved in a question
The Arnold Palmer Invitational last week saw, Bryson DeChambeau under extreme scrutiny, having threatened to cut corners on Bay Hill’s Par 5 sixth, by driving
You get weeks like that, don’t you? You can have month after month when the papers are full of horror stories, and the TV and
Some of you will know that on Tuesdays, after tea, I often indulge in a spot of PR and Nowcomms, if only to keep the
I am aware that many of the Trends in this section are negative, but I hope will allow the reader to avoid backing horses that
This trend continues the theme of horses that are unlikely to win, based on their last race. In this case, they have had the misfortune
As you might expect, when you’re digging in dark statistical corners, you occasionally unearth a shard of old pottery which makes you understand that the
It’s happened to all of us at one time or another. You turn up somewhere you’ve been invited to and you’re wearing your best Waikiki
Turning up at Cheltenham is no guarantee of success – and that even applies to the crowd, as I am reminded whenever I see the
Bizarrely you would think that taking 7lbs off a decent handicap hurdler, might give one a fighting chance with Honest Bob, bookie to the gentry.
As with so many of us, there are a finite number of miles on the clock and even the most elite of elite athletes will
FACT: Since 2003, there have been 92 Grade 1 Festival Races. 76 of those races were contested by horses that had completed their races but
FACT: There have been 389 Class 1 races at the Festival, (Grade 1,2,3 and Listed) since 2003. 124 of those races have had 230 horses
In many cases, there is nothing strange about many Festival statistics, but for some reason this made me double-check. With further thought, however, it makes
FACT: In 83 races since 2003, 103 horses have turned up, whose last prep race was on the Flat or All-weather. 7 of them were
We know we have had 437 NH Festival races since 2003. FACT: Almost 25% of those contained a runner who had raced at Huntingdon LTO.
For the Lord sayeth that many are called, but few are chosen and at Cheltenham, the meek and those rated 112 or below will not
Fact: Since 2003, there have been 206 Festival Hurdle races of which 88 were contested by 122 German-bred horses, of which only 2 have won.
The stupidest question ever asked of any sportsman, as their hopes, self-worth, future careers and personal reputation lie in tattered, bedraggled pieces in full view
A slightly ethereal conversation this morning with Madame, who posed the question: “Is it possible, that we might both have died from Covid, and that
