What a week. The Aga saga, which has moved on to the construction of the Kneesup Kitchen at the Chateau d’If, took a turn for
Between last night and this, I ran into the work of Albanian-born cosmologist Laura Mersini-Houghton, who has a fascinating profile piece in The New Scientist
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
Since we were last together, it is accurate to say that the world has changed, and the impact of those changes is primarily unseen and
I went to The Barn Theatre in Cirencester last night to see Driving Miss Daisy. The Barn is a relatively new theatre whose newness was
An agonisingly slow day in the office – but not at York where the ground simply got faster. No Stradivarius (not as predicted) and no
Thank God the rain has come. Except, of course, that the concrete-baked ground cannot soak it up, so it runs off. That in turn will
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
A balmy summer’s evening and some catching up, plus menu planning and other bits and bobs. Firstly, those of you who follow the Golf will
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
I’m still slightly reeling – as indeed is The Hon. – at the result of Man City, Real Madrid. We had both been given free
Many years ago, Brough Scott, the late great Tony Fairbairn and I went to see Woodrow Wyatt the late and not very great chairman of
A day of almosts… we almost had a wonderful set of fourfold accumulators come off; we almost got it right on Ricci Rich having the
I have this vision of hundreds of people around the country, wandering around in their Jim Jams and dressing gowns, shuffling from fridge to kettle
What a weekend for sunshine and sunny moments. Sam Waley-Cohen being hugged by Marcus Armytage – a rare and precious mantle now shared. Scottie Scheffler
My day can be summarised by the outcome of the Aintree race at 4:40 pm, and my huge wager on STAG HORN. So appalled was
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
It is morning. You sit at your table, the sideboard creaks with chaffing dishes keeping the devilled kidneys a point, the poached eggs at a
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
Like all good Catholics, lapsed or otherwise, I struggle to keep my sins to myself. The need to cleanse one’s soul and expunge all guilt
Robert Duvall – possibly my favourite American film actor – once said: “It’s no big thing, but you make big things out of little things
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,
Very little time is left now for a preamble. I still fear that the medical panjandrums will force the Government’s hand and my SPAD-based tip
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
I just spent two hours writing a preamble that was just another tired rant and I realised that it was pointless. There are simply too
Endless numbers of “stars” and “celebrity doctors” keep insisting that for me to be well, I must be happy. For me to be happy I
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
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,
The top Irish Tipster and irregular commentator for Raceweb, Peter O’Tool, aka The Pharaoh of Galway, has managed to smuggle out his Gold Cup day
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
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
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
RACE TRENDS: The following profile would have found the last 10 winners and 14 of the possible 23 winners since 1998. Since that date, there
After yesterday, I feel as though I deserve a nomination if nothing else. Three seconds, two thirds and a winner – admittedly in the Ayr
The long and complicated story of Phoenix Thoroughbreds is a million miles from being either understood or fully exposed. It involves a Bulgarian-based crypto-currency Ponzi
The twilight of the Flat season is creeping in, with talk about the Arc and Melbourne Cup betting markets, and emails containing the words “Breeders
A profitable day yesterday thanks to JUAN LES PINs winning at 11/1 and watching a rerun of his cracking race will set you up nicely
I feel sorry for jockey Ben Curtis, who has been publically hauled over the coals as he scrabbles to earn a crust out of a
A reader writes that she is confused by my writing about “ball games”, and that “strokes in regulation” means nothing to her. I am much
Apologies for this, but CK was last seen trying to climb the scaffolding of The Goodwood House Hotel, singing a crude variation of The Marsellaise. With
Dinner with Sam Hoskins and other chums last night, at another pub that has decided that C19 is an excuse not a reason to try
The Keeper of The Privy Purse or the Hon. Kneesup as she prefers to be known, has berated me for failing to provide adequate description
Not a bad day at the coal face, and my call on Stradivarius’ race was bang-on. Well that’s enough preamble…
It’s going to be interesting to see what August 1st holds for Goodwood. I had already decided to attend and was planning to join a