Ascot
A memorable Royal Ascot
You tend to like a jockey who has just ridden you a 16-1 winner, as Callum Shepherd did last Saturday…
Ascot was a high-profile disaster for jump racing
The government may for the moment have disbanded its circular firing squad, but racing has never shown a greater ability…
A feast of feelgood emotion
Ascot’s image is all champagne and fascinators, high society and high rollers. Said Art Buchwald: ‘Ascot is so exclusive that…
The trainer who gives the big boys a run for their money
Racing’s New Year began well with the award of OBEs to both Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls, showing that they…
Racing for the app generation
Making racing profitable depends on getting information at the right time. In the Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood two Saturdays ago…
The turf
‘Racing isn’t a team sport,’ the diehards used to tell us about the Shergar Cup, Ascot’s annual contest for three-rider…
The turf
A woman I once encountered at the dining table whose prime years were clearly behind her described herself as ‘approaching…
The joys of jump racing
Thank God for jump racing. The Flat has its glitz and speed and glamour, and we could not help but…
The pitfalls of picnics (and how to avoid them)
Strange, isn’t it, that despite having such famously terrible weather, we Brits are so fond of a picnic. It’s something…
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…
Age triumphs at Ascot
As part of the after-dinner entertainment on a cruise ship recently, I encountered a couple of comedians. One claimed he…
