The turf
The resurrection man
‘I’m going for Al Ferof,’ said a suit in front of me in the Totepool queue at Ascot on Saturday…
Robin Oakley's Twelve to Follow for 2015 (this year's came out ahead)
November has never been my favourite month, not since the time when as a Rugby-playing student my face was rearranged…
The turf
November has never been my favourite month, not since the time when as a Rugby-playing student my face was rearranged…
Maybe Mrs Oakley is right: all my tips will come in second
The novelist Anita Brookner once declared that in real life hares always beat tortoises: ‘Every time. Look around you. And…
Second best
The novelist Anita Brookner once declared that in real life hares always beat tortoises: ‘Every time. Look around you. And…
My first Arc de Triomph was a triumph
Aboard our coach from Rouen to Paris for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe our lady guide put it succinctly:…
Treve triumphant
Aboard our coach from Rouen to Paris for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe our lady guide put it succinctly:…
These are the ones to watch in the Prix de l’Abbaye and the Derby
Rightly, the authorities are doing all they can to find and discipline the disgruntled racegoer who threw a beer can…
Bronze Angel delight
Rightly, the authorities are doing all they can to find and discipline the disgruntled racegoer who threw a beer can…
When jockeys earn so little, temptation is not surprising
While Mrs Oakley was patrolling the aisles in Waitrose one day recently, I slipped off into my local betting shop.…
Money, money, money
While Mrs Oakley was patrolling the aisles in Waitrose one day recently, I slipped off into my local betting shop.…
The making of a racing realist
One of the greatest parliamentary sketch-writers of all time, Norman Shrapnel, made a point of never socialising with the politicians…
Wonder Wall
One of the greatest parliamentary sketch-writers of all time, Norman Shrapnel, made a point of never socialising with the politicians…
Some horses go better for a woman
Mrs Oakley returned from her latest book club with an uplifting story. The Mother Superior of an Irish convent was…
Girl power
Mrs Oakley returned from her latest book club with an uplifting story. The Mother Superior of an Irish convent was…
Goodwood is Ascot without the vulgarity, Aintree without the spray tans
If I get to choose where to spend my last day on earth it will probably be at Glorious Goodwood.…
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.…
A day with the West Ilsley trainer Denis Coakley
Through a stormy July weekend our task was to prevent four feisty grandchildren from murdering or mutilating each other before…
An eye for quality
Through a stormy July weekend our task was to prevent four feisty grandchildren from murdering or mutilating each other before…
Ralph Beckett's winning way with the fillies
Fretful horses who waste their energies — and often their racing potential — ceaselessly pacing their stable dormitories are known…
Fit as a filly
Fretful horses who waste their energies — and often their racing potential — ceaselessly pacing their stable dormitories are known…
Yes, I'm biased – but this was a great Royal Ascot
The one sight I was determined not to miss at Royal Ascot was that of the Queen from over the…
Winning ways
The one sight I was determined not to miss at Royal Ascot was that of the Queen from over the…
Cambridge, meet your first professor of racing lore
Watching the contestants parade at Epsom for this year’s Oaks, I remembered the great D. Wayne Lukas’s pronouncement on selecting…
Epsom delights
Watching the contestants parade at Epsom for this year’s Oaks, I remembered the great D. Wayne Lukas’s pronouncement on selecting…
