Some horses go better for a woman

Mrs Oakley returned from her latest book club with an uplifting story. The Mother Superior of an Irish convent was 95 and failing. On her deathbed she asked for a drink and a nun went for fresh milk. Espying the bottle of John Jameson occasionally used by the visiting Father O’Shaughnessy for refreshment, Sister Agnes poured a generous measure into the cup of milk. As the Mother Superior drank, one of the nuns asked her what piece of advice she would leave them with for their lives ahead. Suddenly sitting bolt-upright in bed, the old lady declared, ‘Whatever you do, don’t get rid of that cow!’

That sums up how I now feel about Ascot’s Shergar Cup. I was one of the doubters when Ascot began running the team contest that involves trios of jockeys under the banners of Europe, Great Britain & Ireland, the Rest of the World and the Girls competing on a points basis while still striving as individuals to win the races.