Gold standard
‘Hang on a minute—he’s a bit wobbly,’ trainer Oliver Sherwood told photographers imploring him to stand with his winner when…
The resurrection man
‘I’m going for Al Ferof,’ said a suit in front of me in the Totepool queue at Ascot on Saturday…
The turf
November has never been my favourite month, not since the time when as a Rugby-playing student my face was rearranged…
Second best
The novelist Anita Brookner once declared that in real life hares always beat tortoises: ‘Every time. Look around you. And…
Treve triumphant
Aboard our coach from Rouen to Paris for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe our lady guide put it succinctly:…
Bronze Angel delight
Rightly, the authorities are doing all they can to find and discipline the disgruntled racegoer who threw a beer can…
Money, money, money
While Mrs Oakley was patrolling the aisles in Waitrose one day recently, I slipped off into my local betting shop.…
Wonder Wall
One of the greatest parliamentary sketch-writers of all time, Norman Shrapnel, made a point of never socialising with the politicians…
Girl power
Mrs Oakley returned from her latest book club with an uplifting story. The Mother Superior of an Irish convent was…
It is glorious at Goodwood
If I get to choose where to spend my last day on earth it will probably be at Glorious Goodwood.…
An eye for quality
Through a stormy July weekend our task was to prevent four feisty grandchildren from murdering or mutilating each other before…
Fit as a filly
Fretful horses who waste their energies — and often their racing potential — ceaselessly pacing their stable dormitories are known…
Winning ways
The one sight I was determined not to miss at Royal Ascot was that of the Queen from over the…
Epsom delights
Watching the contestants parade at Epsom for this year’s Oaks, I remembered the great D. Wayne Lukas’s pronouncement on selecting…
Confidence boost
Eight people became millionaires last Saturday, collecting £1,342,599 each when the Scoop6 bet, which had been rolled over for 12…
Twelve to Follow
In sport, winning is everything. Come second and only your parents and the dog remember. Most readers will have forgotten…
Settling up
Mrs Oakley takes a dim view of my using the BMW that consumed much of her savings to ferry sacks…
Taxing questions
We all have to adjust to reality, like the lady who entered a Barbados bar having already enjoyed several gin…
True sportsmen
In the parade ring just after Sire De Grugy had won this year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase, I found myself…
A Cheltenham of contrasts
No sporting event anywhere compresses so much drama, emotion and character into a single venue as the Cheltenham Festival. It…
Commercial approach
British racing is such a quirky minefield that some were surprised when in 2011 the authorities chose Paul Bittar, a…
On course for thrills
This year you don’t want to be a jockey’s valet. Never have their washing machines spun so vigorously. From every…
Women’s ways
Liverpool manager Bill Shankly was once challenged with the story that for their wedding anniversary treat he had taken his…
Man with a plan
Can you be both restless and content? Standing last week with Graeme McPherson on the viewing platform over his sharply…
Talking dirty
At Christmas a friend from CNN sent me the story of a US officer on a European train. Searching for…
