I approach my 77th birthday not in trepidation but with much to ponder. I am greatly interested in quotes attributed to famous people. I don’t always agree with them, of course. Francois de La Rochefoucauld, whom I studied at school and … Read More »

On any ordinary afternoon Aidan O’Brien’s achievement in sending out the winners of six of the seven races at Leopardstown would have been the main headline of the day. But that spot came under pressure when news came through that … Read More »

There is so much media coverage of racing these days that it was refreshing to be reminded of the value of old-fashioned ‘inside’ information over this last week. Andrew Balding has always struck me as being a sound judge, and … Read More »

Having approached last weekend this time a week ago with no strong views about the Longchamp programme, exacerbated by the uncertainty over the state of the ground and the draw, I worked until the early hours on Friday and Saturday … Read More »

Hi there, With the passing of time I find myself looking back more and more to my earliest days on the racecourse and recalling, some with affection, the characters that used to be around. One who never missed a local … Read More »

Hi there, You have to keep an eye on everything at the moment, with Group-class two-year-olds making their debuts in midweek maidens, but last week my eyes were drawn to two horses in France. The first was Velikaya, who showed … Read More »