The theory is that during the Christmas period one has some 'time off', whether that be a few hours or a few days. Eating and drinking traditionally become serious pastimes, and I always take the opportunity to do a bit of reading. This year I'll be buried primarily not in a book but in a [...]

We always begin a new year full of optimism for the months to come. Within racing, we all hope to be lucky enough to see another superstar, generally focusing on the horse who has just established himself as the champion 2-year-old. In 2020 we are naturally all anticipating the Classic campaign of Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal). [...]

The careers of Dubawi (Ire) (Dubai Millennium {GB}) and Shamardal (Giant's Causeway) have run side by side all the way through. Both were Maktoum-owned Group 1-winning juveniles in 2004 and then 'Guineas' winners for Godolphin in 2005. Both then joined the Darley roster, initially as dual-hemisphere shuttlers before being restricted to the Northern Hemisphere; and [...]

Once in a while a track record is set which we believe may stand forever. It is, however, the nature of things that even the seemingly unbreakable marks are eventually lowered. The :56.16 seconds which it took Dayjur (Danzig) to run the straight five furlongs of the G1 Keeneland Nunthorpe S. at York on Aug. [...]

Stan Cosgrove, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 91, was a legend in his own lifetime, a byword for veterinary excellence and a lynchpin in the success of Moyglare Stud. The seeds for the Moyglare success-story were sown when Walter Haefner bought a dairy farm near Maynooth in Co. Kildare in 1962, [...]

The magnificent duel fought between Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in Saturday's G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth QIPCO S. was everything one could hope for, not least because the first four horses across the line in Britain's premier weight-for-age race are all aged five. In racing, [...]

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.” Rudyard Kipling's observations on life ring true in most scenarios but in the racing game they invariably hit the nail squarely on the head. Over the weekend we were reminded yet again of the wafer-thin dividing line between triumph [...]

Regarded by many as Great Britain's premier 10-furlong weight-for-age race, the G1 Coral-Eclipse S., run at Sandown Park in the height of summer, has a rich history which supports its status as one of the world's greatest races. Some legendary horses are among its past winners, with many great trainers and jockeys standing proud on [...]

I have two Australian friends who spent six months in the UK in 1989. Both returned home towards the end of that year, each reflecting how lucky he had been to have savoured an English summer enriched by the sight of an outstanding racehorse. The irony, of course, is that each nominated a different horse! [...]

Racing has lost one of its most enthusiastic as well as one of its most successful patrons with the passing of Paul Makin at the age of 82. Australian-born Makin first made his mark on the sport in the closing decades of the 20th century as a punter, focusing his formidable intellect and computer skills, [...]

One of the many problems confronting racing the world over appears to be the difficulty of attracting young people into the sport in a hands-on role. While there remains an over-supply of would-be racing managers and bloodstock agents, trainers worldwide will tell you that young people just don't seem to want to work within stables [...]

Sporting press rooms around the world have lost a bit of both joie de vivre and gravitas with the passing of Hugh McIlvanney OBE at the age of 84. McIlvanney, who retired in March 2016, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in February 1934 and started his working life with the Kilmarnock Standard before moving to [...]