I think it fair to say that Archie has never quite recovered from Benie Des Dieux’s last-flight fall at Cheltenham just under a year ago. Passing thoughts can reap a bitter harvest. He yields to no-one in his admiration for … Read More »

Well, an interesting few days with a couple of low-grade winners but a blank day at Cheltenham. I think the number of years I spent working at the festival  –  interviews for the crowd (the present chap does an excellent … Read More »

GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN  –  JUST LIKE PAT I admit to finding this NH season a little disappointing so far. This is mostly because of the wet weather, abandonments and far too many races being run on heavy … Read More »

It can only go down as a quiet Christmas at this end, though 2019 ended with a minor celebration as Urtheonethatiwant defied a 7lb increase at Warwick, having won a long-distance handicap hurdle at Ludlow the time before. As someone … Read More »

I made the effort to watch The Long Summer of George Adams a couple of days ago. The dvd is not readily available now and I wanted to watch James Garner once more before sending my copy to a fellow … Read More »

There is no doubt that things have been a little too hectic of late. More London trips than usual, meetings with friends who have their share of problems, a ray of hope on the Southampton FC front, an HWPA lunch … Read More »

It was a pity rain ruled out the final Doncaster meeting of the season and with it the November Handicap. It will always be the Manchester November Handicap to me, ever since Operatic Society dislodged Ken Gethin at the start, … Read More »

I suppose there has to come a time, maybe at 70 or possibly 71, when you wonder what you’re doing. After all, the game was on television, the rain fell steadily, then furiously as the nine goals went in and … Read More »

My good friend George Materna  – successful businessman, great Goodwood supporter and joint-owner of Open Wide, who finished runner-up in the Stewards’ Cup this year  –  was recently in hospital to have a new hip fitted. I have been through … Read More »

‘Oh the Woolston Ferry, it doesn’t travel very fast. It was never built for comfort, it was built to last’. Which it did, for 141 years, and Lowry painted it, but then they built the Itchen Bridge and that was … Read More »

I suppose we’ve all been in the game too long and love it too much to take all that much satisfaction from leaving certain races alone. On the other hand, it’s quite a while since I attempted to unravel the … Read More »

Another Carnaby seller has come and gone and it takes a while to get back into any sort of groove. This is a strange thing to admit, I suppose, because the race itself is hardly likely to linger in anyone’s … Read More »