Hi there! I’m pretty sure that the powers that be will have breathed a collective sigh of relief when 21 of the 32 starters in the Grand National came home, with no fallers and just two horses – Mac Tottie … Read More »

For a while Miss Alligator did her level best to earn a special place in the history books but an honourable sixth in the !949 Musidora Stakes at York was never going to be enough. Three years later she was … Read More »

Hi there! As you are well aware the Grand National meeting at Aintree starts on Thursday 11 April and with rain forecast for the first three days of the week the ground is expected to be soft, if not heavy … Read More »

Hi there! The Irish domination of our showpiece meeting at Cheltenham is likely to become one of the main topics of conversation again as we approach the Grand National a fortnight on Saturday, with just five of the 34 sure … Read More »

Hi there, I have to start this piece on a sad note. As some of you may be aware, I was blessed to count Steve Harley as a friend for over forty years, so news of his illness and then … Read More »

Ask me to name a handful of famous sculptors and until recently I’d probably have fallen about four short. Auguste Rodin rescued me and that was long before the equine version landed last year’s Epsom Derby. Rodin’s most famous work … Read More »

Hi there, This week, away from the political scene, the weights for the nine handicaps at Cheltenham are published. As you may know I always like to dig out the plots for these races … Sire Du Berlais was a … Read More »

Cambridge came and went too soon. I see that now and foolishly think of going back, even at this late stage, to write a thesis on some aspect of Marcel Proust’s oeuvre that others have missed. Three years half a … Read More »

Hi there! I was going to start this piece with an expression of my disappointment in the aftermath of the weekend’s action at Leopardstown but the news of the tragic death of 25-year-old Keagan Kirkby, who has been part of … Read More »

For quite a long time I couldn’t work out why Charles Benson entered my thoughts as often as he did. He’s been gone for several years and it wasn’t as if we had a great deal in common, though we … Read More »