This weekend’s Hatton’s Grace Hurdle fixture at Fairyhouse may not be called the “Winter Festival” anymore but no matter how much ‘morketing’ expertise went into slapping the “Premier Jump Racing Weekend” tag on it all, for many of us it will always be connected with just one word – Bowe. And I ain’t talking Selecta! (more…)

The evidence of Willie Mullins’s continuing dominance in the jumps game can be gauged by the almost routine reaction to a superb Punchestown four-timer which included Thousand Stars’ Morgiana success: Nothing remarkable – same story, different day. But the champion trainer really is taking this dominance to new levels. (more…)

It goes against the grain to defend bookmaker chains. First of all they are more than capable of defending themselves and secondly they are a fundamental spanner in the works of this country’s racing/betting model. But fair’s fair: It’s not like they’re politicians. (more…)

It really is going to be a “winter of discontent” and those initial light-hearted, almost facetious, comments about the new whip rules provoking a situation whereby British racing starts to run out of jockeys are starting to take on a much more serious tone. (more…)