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Time to Make History. Everybody seemed genuinely surprised last weekend when Richard Johnson announced his immediate retirement. From the subsequent tributes Johnson appears to have been equally well respected both on and off the track. Hopefully, he finds a role in retirement that gives him as much satisfaction as race riding obviously did. So, the…

North v South As this strange season heads towards its conclusion, it looks like the media focus is going to be concentrated on the battle for the jockey’s championship. Harry Skelton and Brian Hughes are only separated by a couple of winners and presently there seems a momentum shift towards Skelton largely due to his…

Let’s kick on… Well, big sigh, we can all be thankful that Cheltenham went off smoothly, all the publicity that was generated was of the right kind, let’s hope the gloom of the past few weeks is fast disappearing in the rear-view mirror. Rachel Blackmore, a godsend to the non-racing media, has long been a…

Three down one (was) to go… A few thoughts from the Festival’s first three days. Both seemed to highlight the good in the sport. Tuesday… on the jockey front really good news stories with both Rachel Blackmore and Ryan Mania getting deserved headlines. Having 12/1 Rachel to be top jockey gives me some added interest…

Cheltenham but not as we know it t doesn’t need me to state the obvious, but I will, it is going to be a strange Cheltenham this year. No crowds, no amateur jockeys, no Gordon Elliot, no roar when the first race gets underway, no trying to spot the next top Irish amateur to rival…

Well, who saw that coming? Last Sunday I felt a bit like the guy who walks round a corner and gets mown down by a cyclist bombing down the pavement from the wrong direction. Greater minds than this one has voiced their opinion on the Gordon Elliot saga …. I am surprised “Gordongate “hasn’t been…

No ducking the Eider Always a race I look forward to, although it usually ends up as a war of attrition, the Eider chase comes round once again at Newcastle. It used to be seen as a stepping-stone to the Grand National but that doesn’t seem to be the case these days. Looking back through…

Not long to go…. Well only three and a half weeks until Cheltenham starts, and it can’t come soon enough. At least unlike the latest lockdown we know when, fingers crossed, it starts and finishes so let’s hope no unforeseen variants get in the way. Most of the championship races look to be, if the…

Whether or not…. I was just talking to a mate who has written his family memoirs over lockdown, he tells me it is one hundred and two thousand words long. Poor the poor relatives who have to feign interest. I usually write slightly less for this little piece and its still an almighty struggle. Not…

Swimming against the tide. The famous painting colloquially named Whistler’s Mother is actually called Arrangement in Grey and Black No 1. Fascinating I hear mumbled from the back, but it seems a good description of the world we are currently inhabiting. Look out of the window, look at the telly, read the press, all doom…