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Friday

Penworthy

Two tips for the Paddy Power Gold Cup

Richard Hobson is a trainer that I have a lot of time for. He always gets the best out of his small string and he is always willing to share information with journalists about the well-being of his horses and their big-race targets. He places his horses well too, even if it means going to the other side of the English Channel in search of better prize money. Hobson’s stable star FUGITIF is due to make his seasonal debut a week from tomorrow in the highly-competitive Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham’s November meeting. This eight-year-old gelding ticks a lot of boxes for this contest, notably he has strong form

Poppie Platt

Are party holidays ever that fun?

Forget GCSEs or landing your first part-time job. Nothing screamed growing up in Britain like embarking on your first European party holiday, armed with an alarming lack of SPF or common sense but a suitcase packed full of skimpy outfits and condoms. Every summer, thousands of young Britons would jet off to Greece, Cyprus or Spain, having signed up for a week of raucous hedonism provided by travel companies like Club 18-30. They’re getting steadily less popular – Gen Z don’t really drink, after all – but the themes explored in Molly Manning-Walker’s new film, How to Have Sex, remain universal. Set in the Greek resort of Malia, Crete, Manning-Walker’s

Jonathan Miller Jonathan Miller

Britain’s electric vehicle mandates don’t make sense

It is now four years since I bought my first electric car. At the time, I wished I hadn’t. The car, though solid, swift and fun, had the slight problem that it could explode at any time.  In 2019, a tranche of electric cars were sold to ingenues such as myself, only to be recalled so that their batteries could be replaced with ones which might not spontaneously combust. Once replaced, it was fine, but my home needed an upgrade, too – every fuse in the house blew when I first tried to recharge the car and boil a kettle at the same time. Being an EV pioneer (I was

Wednesday

Sam McPhail

Celebrity owners are ruining football

Tom Brady must get bored easily. After America’s superstar quarterback retired (for a second time) in March, he invested in a Las Vegas women’s basketball team, sorted out his divorce, bought a racing boat team with Rafael Nadal and, this summer, became a minority owner of Birmingham City. A few weeks ago, it was announced that he’d had a meaningful chat with Wayne Rooney, the club’s new manager. ‘It’s important for the players to see Tom Brady have an involvement. It’s very clear that Tom is fully involved in the club’ said Rooney, clearly aware that fans might be sceptical. Brady is just one of several American celebrities who have invested in