There have been plenty of highlights over the last few days at Punchestown, Newmarket and in America, but I would like to focus here on one outcome that did not go according to plan. That is the performance of Constitution … Read More »

There seems to be an understanding in Ireland that young inexperienced jumping stock needs to be brought along steadily. Invariably in large fields of novice hurdlers the market leaders set off together in the front while the others trail behind, … Read More »

MIND THE GAP! A LATE MESSAGE I don’t like gaps. I like complete sets. Therefore a piece missing from a jigsaw puzzle, especially if it happens to be a city centre somewhere, irritates me more than in bothers other people. … Read More »

I don’t like gaps. I like complete sets. Therefore a piece missing from a jigsaw puzzle, especially if it happens to be a city centre somewhere, irritates me more than in bothers other people. In the dying days of steam … Read More »

I was probably not alone in looking back at the form of 200/1 winner Heavenly Heather after she had won the Class 2 Fillies’ and Mares’ Championships Handicap at Newcastle last Friday. I hold firm in my belief that the … Read More »

I have to start with a word of praise for the ride Harry Cobden gave Captain Cody to win the Scottish Grand National on Saturday. This could all have gone horribly wrong for him. Riding the horse for the first … Read More »

With so many pundits in social media and the racing press, I would like to think that someone will apply themselves to trying to ascertain why Willie Mullins has such dominion over his contemporaries. I am no statistician, but I … Read More »

All eyes will be focused on Aintree this week, but on the flat in Ireland it’s possible that we’ve already seen some leading Classic contenders. Aidan O’Brien suggested last season that he was not going to rush his horses, mindful … Read More »

By chance last night I was reading an old review written by the late Clive James about a biography of the poet WH Auden, in which he refers to what he calls the ‘clarity of detachment.’ I was thinking this … Read More »

Last week’s events at Cheltenham perfectly illustrated the unpredictable nature of this fascinating game. Nobody could have foreseen the sequence of incidents that unfolded in the Champion Hurdle, while the defeat of five odds-on favourites ensured that the layers finished … Read More »

They seem to race a lot at Doncaster. It’s not just my imagination. Summer and winter, afternoons and evenings, fixtures on Derby day and fixtures during Cheltenham; Jonjo O’Neill was recently anticipating a routine task on Town Moor until Willie … Read More »

Well it’s almost upon us … the highlight of the season. By the end of this week we’ll know which of the good things got beat and whether Constitution Hill and Galopin Des Champs belong in the stellar galaxy of … Read More »