Frankie Dettori
Tom Marquand was the star of Goodwood
On no course in Britain does jockeyship count for more than at undulating, tricksy Goodwood and although Frankie Dettori was…
Frankie gets his last Royal Ascot hurrah – in spades
We all wanted Frankie to have a last Royal Ascot hurrah. In the end he got four, including a ninth…
My summer Twelve to Follow
Usually in May I am still casting an enviously nostalgic eye backwards to Aintree and Cheltenham, reluctant yet to pack…
The making of a Classics winner
For a Radio Four programme she was hosting Clare Balding once had the idea that it would be fun to…
I can trace all our problems back to Frankie Dettori
‘If you think about it, Frankie Dettori is to blame,’ said the builder boyfriend, because when things are really bad…
This year, Glorious Goodwood had it all
‘You’re being unfaithful,’ says the punter’s wife brandishing a note found in her husband’s suit pocket: ‘Dorothea 07440 521321.’ ‘No,…
Why racing needs Frankie Dettori
Heading for a holiday in Sardinia, I remembered that the last time we were there our engine-less, drifting boat was…
The joy of Royal Ascot
In a disintegrating country, stuck for the moment with a Prime Minister who can’t see the difference between a proliferation…
The importance of second chances
A Sandown Saturday proved the perfect send-off for 12 raceless days on the otherwise wonderful Isle of Mull. A Frankie…
Proper racing is back at last
At last proper racing is back. Through the long days of lockdown horses and jockeys have still given their all…
The rise of older jockeys
There are many facets to Royal Ascot’s appeal. For some it is glamour, style and opulence. For some it is…
In a jam: what Goodwood did with 900 punnets of strawberries
It was to have been, if not a glorious return, at least an encouraging one. On the Stewards’ Cup day…
Royal Ascot was a triumph – even without the cheers and the hats
Royal Ascot it wasn’t: for the first time in her 68-year reign, thanks to Covid-19, the Queen was not there.…
The turf
Khalid Abdullah, John Gosden and Frankie Dettori — owner, trainer and jockey — already figured among the great names of…
From the dismal to the delightful: the year in sport
So long, then, to another thrilling year of sport in which the full range of human possibility — from the…
This year’s Twelve to Follow netted a £328 profit
Three personalities dominated the Flat season: Gosden, Dettori and Golden Horn. Victories for the trio in the Derby, the Irish…
Be warned: the mighty Air Force Blue blows away all before him
I was both delighted and unsurprised that Denis Healey made it to 98. One day in the 1970s I took…
The Eclipse Stakes at Sandown: a pulsating contest between two brave horses and two thinking jockeys
Eclipse was one of the most remarkable racehorses ever. Sired by the then undistinguished Marske, whom mares could visit for…
Frankie Dettori: Britain’s favourite Italian is back
Nothing has been lost since William Powell Frith painted his Derby Day panorama in 1858: today, instead of the carriages…
Disneyland comes to the Cheltenham Festival
Irish racing guru Ted Walsh was asked at the start of Gold Cup day if retiring champion jockey Tony McCoy…
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:…
Will racing waste its Scoop6 jackpot?
Eight people became millionaires last Saturday, collecting £1,342,599 each when the Scoop6 bet, which had been rolled over for 12…
How jockeys play dirty
At Christmas a friend from CNN sent me the story of a US officer on a European train. Searching for…
