On Sunday a colleague sent me a copy of a piece from the Racing Post Grapevine feature in which Tony Charlton expressed his appreciation for my putting him in touch with Toby Balding. I don’t recall doing that but I … Read More »

There were points of interest for us all over the place this weekend, with everything from a modest 0-60 nursery on Friday at Southwell to the razzmatazz of the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. It’s a reflection of the rich … Read More »

Now this is going back a few years, but there is never a day in our industry when this doesn’t apply. Back in the 70s when I was a student I used to frequent a betting shop in the Whitgift … 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 »

I’m not alone in having felt the last few days have passed through in a bit of a whirl. We had 31 thoroughbred races over the four days of Doncaster and then a clutch of Pattern races over the weekend … Read More »

The ‘number crunchers’ will have their say at some point, but without having access to all the figures my impression is that this year’s crop of middle-distance three-year-olds is distinctly ordinary. Dual-Derby winner Lambourn finished fifth of seven in the … Read More »