The turf
My 12 tips for the racing year
In sport, winning is everything. Come second and only your parents and the dog remember. Most readers will have forgotten…
Twelve to Follow
In sport, winning is everything. Come second and only your parents and the dog remember. Most readers will have forgotten…
Own up, Twelve to Follow fans – which of you sabotaged my BMW?
Mrs Oakley takes a dim view of my using the BMW that consumed much of her savings to ferry sacks…
Settling up
Mrs Oakley takes a dim view of my using the BMW that consumed much of her savings to ferry sacks…
Sympathy for the bookies
We all have to adjust to reality, like the lady who entered a Barbados bar having already enjoyed several gin…
Taxing questions
We all have to adjust to reality, like the lady who entered a Barbados bar having already enjoyed several gin…
Why the other jockeys love Jamie Moore
In the parade ring just after Sire De Grugy had won this year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase, I found myself…
True sportsmen
In the parade ring just after Sire De Grugy had won this year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase, I found myself…
Comebacks, longshots and cruel disappointments: what makes Cheltenham Festival great
No sporting event anywhere compresses so much drama, emotion and character into a single venue as the Cheltenham Festival. It…
A Cheltenham of contrasts
No sporting event anywhere compresses so much drama, emotion and character into a single venue as the Cheltenham Festival. It…
How Paul Bittar has kept British racing together
British racing is such a quirky minefield that some were surprised when in 2011 the authorities chose Paul Bittar, a…
Commercial approach
British racing is such a quirky minefield that some were surprised when in 2011 the authorities chose Paul Bittar, a…
The Grand National needs kinder weather
This year you don’t want to be a jockey’s valet. Never have their washing machines spun so vigorously. From every…
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 simply don't understand sport's importance
Liverpool manager Bill Shankly was once challenged with the story that for their wedding anniversary treat he had taken his…
Women’s ways
Liverpool manager Bill Shankly was once challenged with the story that for their wedding anniversary treat he had taken his…
When lawyers take to racehorses
Can you be both restless and content? Standing last week with Graeme McPherson on the viewing platform over his sharply…
Man with a plan
Can you be both restless and content? Standing last week with Graeme McPherson on the viewing platform over his sharply…
How jockeys play dirty
At Christmas a friend from CNN sent me the story of a US officer on a European train. Searching for…
Talking dirty
At Christmas a friend from CNN sent me the story of a US officer on a European train. Searching for…
Why does Newbury alienate potential racegoers?
You don’t realise how much your pleasures mean until you are denied them. It was wonderful to get back on…
Hennessy Day highlights
You don’t realise how much your pleasures mean until you are denied them. It was wonderful to get back on…
Christmas racing reading
In one of those old Mae West films a girl admires her friend’s jewellery: ‘Goodness, what lovely pearls,’ only to…
Dirty rotten scoundrels
In one of those old Mae West films a girl admires her friend’s jewellery: ‘Goodness, what lovely pearls,’ only to…
Racing: Here are the 'Twelve to Follow' for winter
Women truly are different. Recovering in a spare bedroom from the wonders of a hip replacement (don’t ever jump on…
