
CHELTENHAM DAY 4
We popped into The Tent to see chums and to apologise for The Hon’s picture appearing in the Daily Mail. The place was awash with
We popped into The Tent to see chums and to apologise for The Hon’s picture appearing in the Daily Mail. The place was awash with
We returned from the jolly lunch to find a note from an old friend to say that she had found herself at a loose end
This past weekend I spotted and wrote about a 17/2 winner (Dubai Station) that had the form of a donkey seen in a charity advert
We’re in the eye of Storm Dressdown, the calm epicentre of the surrounding torrent of hot-air and clashing reputations, where we have most of the
A tiring but jolly and good Friday in town, where I attend the AGM and annual lunch of The Turf Automobile Society. This august body
What an exhausting week. By way of example and mindful as ever of this Government’s leadership of the nation, I spent yesterday trying to find
Another shock retirement this week, with news that Tom Scudamore has called it a day after 25 years in the saddle and has yet to
Sometime in late 1977, I ran a gaff in Camden Lock called Madisons, which ran the full length of the first floor of the Camden
Luckily for the developed world, the only public service that is working efficiently is Netflix, and we are thus able to see, hear and emote
The torrid arguments about the future of racing continued apace this week. Various pointless assurances about its future have been uttered, and all of them
As the weekend looms, it’s difficult to know how to divide one’s time. The TV alone will be providing: The Singapore Grand Prix (Sunday 1:00
As the world descends into chaos and the End of Days announces itself with a viral outbreak “of concern” in the Argentine, my week finishes
This week’s diary found me pinning a badge saying “I like Milk from Cows” on a small Ukrainian child. As you might imagine, my historical
A day full of mixed emotions. The exam results bode well for young Theocrates with two A* and an A. Does this get him into
There is a lot of pressure this week as we prepare for the builders to arrive and we also move into temporary offices. The Wifi
A dreadful day at Newmarket for readers of this column where we lost two selections in a horrific on-track accident. Both TRIBAL ART and SUMMER’S
The Hon. is diseased and I have run out the Yellow Jack to warn the bumboats, tinkers and itinerant matchstick sellers to stay away. I
Apart from drinking tea, when the temperature heads this far north, we deploy the electric fan, my last punkah wallah having disappeared back to Wolverhampton
A CORRECTION: The Cousin of Capt Smyly isn’t. She’s his Niece! Nice. He’ll be able to invite her to The Derby Dinner. I must admit
What a marvellous day. I spent the morning in the company of one of the best jockeys of the last quarter of the 20th century
In the midst of all the Ascot preparations, the thinking, the calculations, the decisiveness and confidence, sadly coupled with the loss of all value perceptions
I have captured a photograph of the great tipster Prince Monolulu who would stand on the Downs by the rails and shout to the crowd
Overarching all that we do in these brief few days, the aura of Her Majesty’s presence shines out. From the top of White Horse Hill,
They’re racing early tomorrow because of the FA Cup. For some reason, I had it in my head that the Cup was next weekend and
It wasn’t a bad weekend for results, which started to bring us back towards the sunny uplands, and away from the Slough of Despond. We
Unlike other racing columns, this one is totally transparent in keeping its readers abreast of its own follies. Yesterday, and not to put too fine
Showing a woeful grasp of history, the bollocks-sphere has rung with the mutterings of the illiterati, suggesting that the Bishops have no right to involve
I don’t know about Middleham, but in lovely Lambourn, the sun hit some 20ยบ, and the day was glorious. The streets were packed with thousands
My day can be summarised by the outcome of the Aintree race at 4:40 pm, and my huge wager on STAG HORN.ย So appalled was
Editorial Note: No people died from Covid in the writing of this article and the author has recently tested negative – again. Even as Thor’s
If Cheltenham moves to five days, this is what this morning will feel like – except you’ll have to put your tweeds on, kick the
I have just read some unutterable drivel that suggests that the Turners Novice Chase, while not totally brilliant with only the four horses competing in
No time for chit chat. I’m building a website for a charity; I’ve got an environmental campaign to put together; I’ve just come back from
I wondered this week, at what point the Labour front-bench might overcome their oft-absent scruples and walk out of the chamber en masse in order
There can’t be many occasions during the year when an enemy could inflict maximum damage on Blighty in a single strike. But if you wanted
This last week I found myself moved by various snippets of writing that gave me unexpected pleasure. Among those was a small segment of The
We managed to claw a bit back on Saturday and ended up +10.35pts. The Treble crashed out on the first leg but provided two odds-on
As I write, I discover Barry Cryer has died. I saw him on The Edinburgh Fringe many years ago, and the wave of affection and
It’s hard to know what to make of the nellies who constitute the lower orders on the Conservative backbenches. The Rt. Hon. Member for Frightfully-Cross
One of my favourite readers, Mrs Banshee from Kent, sent me a kindly and charming note outlining her concern at my Aga woes. The Aga,
Despite calling in sick for exactly 26 days, it turns out that the Lateral Flow Tests I used every seven days were all flawed, and
Robert Duvall – possibly my favourite American film actor – once said: โItโs no big thing, but you make big things out of little things
The elephant in the room at Villa Kneesup, is the inherited double oven gas Aga that pumps out about the same heat as Chernobyl as
How sad that Janice Long should die so young of something that always sounds so trifling, Pneumonia. One always rather thinks it is curable, manageable,
As the great Dame Edna would say at the beginning of a new stage show, “Did you miss me Possums?” I know one reader who
Three English racecourses, two jumps meeting, the final televised Flat Handicap Turf race (as I type I wonder whether that’s right?) of the 2021 season,
I seem to spend a fair amount of time these days, accidentally drifting in and out of parallel universes. In this multiplicity of locations, 16
I don’t know about you gentle readers, but about every six weeks, the old fleas start to scratch and you know it’s time for the
A quiet lunch in East Garston, where I see the shoot wagon bringing in hungry souls all sporting long woollen socks and rather bizarrely in
Despite empty shelves, nobody apparently working, the collapse of Kabul, the changes to the NH handicapping system, the sale of the house, and a 15-week-old
โA difference of opinion is what makes horse racing and missionaries.”
We regularly suggest big-priced winners, as well as providing our readers with food for thought, views that challenge, and things to make you laugh. Sadly, as with everything else, the costs of managing this site have rocketed, so I’m asking you now to consider making a tiny contribution to helping the Kneesups to manage those expenses.
So if you backed one of the winners recently, or even made a profit by swerving our suggestions, then please click the button to make a small donation.