Banks only lend money to those who can prove they don’t need it and it has not been a happy few months for racing with one trainer after another giving up the unequal struggle and shutting the stable doors. The only thing that could make it worse for many small yards is an election victory in May for the Greens: they have vowed, if they win power, to outlaw zoos and circuses and a ban on horseracing clearly would not be far behind.
I have had my problems too. Gremlins from outer space this week seized control of my laptop and have locked away my racing notes behind an immovable screen that resembles an early Jackson Pollock. Mrs Oakley’s laptop, pressed into service instead, contains some excellent recipes and penetrating literary notes but not a single quote obtained at Cheltenham or Sandown.
I have diverted to three new publications on jockeys, racecourses and one remarkable horse.
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