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
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,
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
Normal service resumed today and I am beginning to scratch the scalp. Certainly, some of the results have been very unexpected, but nonetheless, I am
Another (as in rare and yes we have had them before), profitable day at Raceweb Towers! The crowd at York was down – but according
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
What a joy to be at Badminton. From the Car Park to The Members Enclosure was just shy of 3000 paces. Shopping with The Hon,
The Almost God of Thirsk smiled briefly in our collective direction when I wrote, DUBAI LOVE is getting first-time cheekpieces from S Bin S and
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
This looks like a day for favourites – or certainly top of the market players. I have suggested doing an accumulator at the bottom of
It isn’t every day that we pull a 25/1 winner out of the hat, but that is what we did in the Bumper yesterday at
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
Not the worst day I’ve ever had at Punchestown, helped by a winner and a couple of places, which in turn were helped by the
I don’t know about Middleham, but in lovely Lambourn, the sun hit some 20º, and the day was glorious. The streets were packed with thousands
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
There was a moment on Thursday when the Kneesup world took a definitive turn for the worse. Not the excessive prices that Cheltenham has been
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
I had a jolly Fish and Chip supper at a local pub last night with my old friend The FinTech Brain, and while inventing a
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
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
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
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,
A slow and steady start to the day after a delicious beano last night. Chums from Warwickshire who had been dining elsewhere came to inspect
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
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
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
I wondered last night over a pint, whether there were wise old men in Sodom and Gomorrah, who, as the great fire rained down and
There are days when you might think Huzzah, York races and the Ebor will soon be upon us. Your spirits are lifted because the wind
Not the most sparkling Friday, and I apologise. I think there are days when one is simply trying to over-deliver – certainly I overthought it.
Yesterday’s Raceweb advisory was a tale of two halves. On the real and considered side of the equation, we were +4pts with a win and
While that wretched Liberal-wet, Green-belt-destroying PM has failed to make 4th June a National Holiday, (he’s always looked like he’d have been happier at Harrow),
Yesterday – I discovered appropriately today – was National Diary Day. In that vein, yesterday’s selections weren’t so appalling, but still, we were down a
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 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
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.
22nd February 2021 Willie Mullins talking about AL BOUM PHOTO: I’ll give him a big bit of work this week. He’s in great shape. He
8th February 2021 GAILLARD DU MESNIL got things underway at Leopardstown’s Dublin Racing Festival, with a brilliant performance in the opener. The five-year-old was cut
On Thursday Lockdown 2 started. The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker, all remain open and three Huzzahs for them. That isn’t however the case
I thought that by the time you read this, my fate would be sealed and I’d have done some big biscuits on the US Presidential
If you happen to be up at 4:00 am this coming morning, you could actually watch The Melbourne Cup. Give it another 24 hours and
A close friend of mine, the Time-Life photographer Peter Jordan popped in for a coffee today. As a front-line photo-journalist, he’s seen and done much
A great chum called me this week to tell me the exciting, indeed brilliant news, that he had had a 40/1 winner in Ireland. He
After my suggested advice to Annamarie yesterday, my post box was flooded with the following note from my old friend and former intelligent officer, 006½
I feel the urge to spread my bonhomie around the minor counties and so later today I shall progress to Dorsetshire. I very much doubt
My office lies just north of the memsahib’s and so it is only a matter of switching off the selective deafness mode to catch the
After yesterday, I feel as though I deserve a nomination if nothing else. Three seconds, two thirds and a winner – admittedly in the Ayr