Robin Oakley

Robin Oakley writes The Spectator's The turf column

In praise of Harry Cobden

2 December 2023 9:00 am

The joy of jump-racing

4 November 2023 9:00 am

The turf

7 October 2023 9:00 am

The murky world of bloodstock agents

23 September 2023 9:00 am

Top owners are quitting horse racing because bookmakers nervous of a government and a Gambling Commission that know remarkably little…

The charm of Carmel races

9 September 2023 9:00 am

Racing at Cartmel probably began in the 15th century when Brother John wagered a mug of ale with Brother Cain…

The fight over jockey saunas is heating up

26 August 2023 9:00 am

When the nine equine athletes involved in the seven-furlong contest for Newbury’s Saturday highlight, the Group Two BetVictor Hungerford Stakes,…

Tom Marquand was the star of Goodwood

12 August 2023 9:00 am

On no course in Britain does jockeyship count for more than at undulating, tricksy Goodwood and although Frankie Dettori was…

Relief Rally put the Ascot heartbreak behind her at Newbury

29 July 2023 9:00 am

‘God it’s hot,’ said a Newbury waitress escaping into the lift from rain-soaked crowds jostling in the bars last Saturday.…

Paddington emerged victorious but Eclipse was an enthralling duel

15 July 2023 9:00 am

I should have listened to George Duffield. Sandown Park’s Eclipse Stakes, the first time the Classic generation of three-year-olds take…

Frankie gets his last Royal Ascot hurrah – in spades

1 July 2023 9:00 am

We all wanted Frankie to have a last Royal Ascot hurrah. In the end he got four, including a ninth…

The turf

17 June 2023 9:00 am

The science of horse racing

3 June 2023 9:00 am

Everybody in racing is looking for an edge. With 7-4 the field, the punter is looking for a 2-1. The…

My summer Twelve to Follow

20 May 2023 9:00 am

Usually in May I am still casting an enviously nostalgic eye backwards to Aintree and Cheltenham, reluctant yet to pack…

Kitty’s Light is the horse of the year

6 May 2023 9:00 am

John Trotwood Moore, one-time State Librarian of Tennessee, was a racist and defender of the Ku Klux Klan. But in…

The grand shame of the Grand National protestors

22 April 2023 9:00 am

When jockey Derek Fox came over from Ireland to join the Scottish stable run by Lucinda Russell and her partner,…