The turf
The turf
Irish trainer John F. O’Neill owes the stalls handlers at Goodwood a good drink or two. In Ireland this season…
The turf
I don’t miss too many from the political world I once inhabited but I was saddened by the death of…
The turf
‘You’re being unfaithful,’ says the punter’s wife brandishing a note found in her husband’s suit pocket: ‘Dorothea 07440 521321.’ ‘No,…
The turf
President George W. Bush used to quote his fellow Texan Robert Strauss who famously declared: ‘You can fool some of…
The turf
Heading for a holiday in Sardinia, I remembered that the last time we were there our engine-less, drifting boat was…
The turf
In a disintegrating country, stuck for the moment with a Prime Minister who can’t see the difference between a proliferation…
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In the absence on her Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty, such an avid Derby attender in the past, and following…
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Seeing Fully Wet win the European Breeders Fund Maiden Stakes at Goodwood on Saturday was a genuine source of pleasure,…
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‘Some of our players can hardly write their names,’ moaned one leading football manager. ‘But you should see them add…
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The Irish aren’t just good at winning horse races: they are in the Super League when it comes to celebrating…
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How wonderful after three years to have the crowds back to enjoy the glorious concoction of skill, bravery, razzmatazz and…
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For Barbara and Alick Richmond, Living Legend’s game 12-1 victory in Kempton’s 1m 2f Magnolia Stakes last Saturday was their…
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You don’t always have to win to enjoy it. At the end of the £100,000 Paddy Power Imperial Cup at…
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Even when the authorities were refusing Milton Harris the right to renew his training licence after he got his finances…
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Certain sections of the media love to run a knocking story and when champion trainer Paul Nicholls’s horses failed to…
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The engine wasn’t what it was, they said. At ten years old the spark that had once made him a…
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There is nothing like visiting a stud early in the foaling season. As amiable mums-to-be saunter up to the paddock…
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Seen any groundhogs your way? In racing the New Year began much as the old one had ended. At Cheltenham’s…
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A joyful Saturday at Ascot recently reminded me that when the old Hurst Park Racecourse (near Hampton Court Palace) closed…
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In the first such case for 20 years, former rider Freddy Tylicki, paralysed and wheelchair-bound since his mount Nellie Dean…
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Ascot’s image is all champagne and fascinators, high society and high rollers. Said Art Buchwald: ‘Ascot is so exclusive that…
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There are Flat people and there are jumping people. People like the late Captain Tim Forster, trainer of three Grand…
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In 1986 a young Mark Johnston, having acquired a derelict yard on the Lincolnshire coast, phoned the Jockey Club to…
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I know what Keats was on about with his mists and mellow fruitfulness, but autumn is less of a joy…
The turf
My best fun, through ten years reporting European politics for CNN, was bumping around the Continent with sparky young producers…
