Royal Ascot
Dear Mary: how do I stop our cousins’ dog peeing on the curtains?
Q. I have a friend whom I see quite often who keeps asking me if I will ‘get her invited’ for…
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…
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 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…
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.…
In praise of geldings
Boris Johnson, Remainers might like to be reminded, does sometimes change his mind under pressure. Some years ago, as editor…
Hang on to your hat – they’re making a comeback
‘Thank goodness for racing,’ says Rachel Trevor-Morgan. She is a milliner — a hat maker — so it’s no surprise…
The happiest Royal Ascot in memory
Let’s get the crowing over first. The returns from our Twelve to Follow over jumps last season were somewhere well…
Ryan Moore is the new Lester Piggott
Nothing pleases the Royal Ascot crowd more than a winner for the meeting’s crucial supporter, the Queen. Imagine, then, the…
What is to be done about a world where everything is for sale?
Next time you read about an auctioneer’s gavel coming down on a $150 million painting bought by some flunkey representing…
Joan Collins’s diary: Why I gave up on Ascot – and where I go instead
Can there be anything more perfect than early July in London, when the sun is shining, the sky a cloudless…
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…
Royal Ascot triumph: Johnny Murtagh is the best trainer riding
Ginger Rogers, clever girl, did everything that Fred Astaire did — but she did it backwards. I am looking backwards…
