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The famous Hill where hundreds of thousands used to congregate on Derby Day… February midwinter dark as I drove across it just now. Shadows in the gloom. Riders of the dawn, or ghosts from [...]

“Aintree, Imperial Cup at Sandown, The County Hurdle, Punchestown, Iroquois….” When we headed around the M25 to Kempton in Sophie’s “car” yesterday morning [...]

To “Good to Soft, Soft in places”…. From Sakhir to Kempton… Any similarities ?? Floodlights. A lake in the infield in Bahrain. A “lake” of sorts at Kempton. [...]

To a pig in the proverbial…. Rock hard ground at Sakhir Racecourse yesterday afternoon. To play to the strengths of some… Not for Nesthorn who won here in December after a week of [...]

Of wind. On millpond sea…. The Crown Prince’s Cup. Group 3. $200,000 in the pot… Eight runners, and Nesthorn flying our flag. Brilliant on his Bahraini debut, and bounced up to [...]

Dead calm out in this particular bit of The Gulf… No white horses. A gentle breeze… Race day… Racing at an hour that is past my bedtime. MAX MAYHEM at 8.40pm, DESERT COP at [...]

Haze… Over the fiery nodding donkeys that dig deep for riches in desert soil… An industrial landscape pricked with flaming gas and golden minarets… Just back from the stables. [...]

Galloping. And dancing and prancing across the Gulf… Choppy seas… Troubled waters not much more than a short hop and skip away across sky and sand and water… Distant shadows on [...]

With Lady Luck… Those of us who have chosen sport to define our lives need this Lady on our side… With her in our camp, the wildest dreams can be made glorious reality… But when [...]

In twenty four… Millimeters and hours. Rain that gets right into you. You know what I mean – wet rain that burrows deep into the bones. Days to be got through. Wet, wet, wet… [...]