It is 11 A M on Wednesday as I begin typing this report. The Paris trip took a great deal out of me. I had planned to go to Windsor for the Monday twilight meeting but was too worn out. The trip to Windsor is a charming one. A train from Paddington takes you to Slough. When you step off the train, there is a train in the next platform ready to take you to Windsor. It is a short ride. You walk for, may be, three minutes and get to a jetty. You board a boat and it is a 10-minute journey. The boat takes you within a minute of Windsor’s entrance. It is a delightful trip. I am hoping I can go next Monday. I have a standing invitation from Windsor.

There are several items of interest to Indian race fans. The paddock formalities at Epsom for the Derby left a lot to be desired. The Queen, in a pink dress, and the Duke of Ediburgh were in the paddock. Princess Haya of Jordan and Sheikh Mohammed were there with their posse. The six horses trained by Aidan O’Brien did not get to the paddock until ‘jockeys up’ direction was heard. It was appalling. O’Brien was fined 140 pounds per horse. In O’Brien’s scheme of things, 840 pounds is not much. The public was deprived of seeing the Irish invaders. It was a fleeting appearance. Two of them, Fame And Glory and Rip Van Winkle, were well bet and the former was pounded and became the post time favourite. The Derby start was delayed by about 10 minutes. In the British (racing) press, there is this controversy about how to enforce proper compliance with time limits.

The scene shifted to Curragh for a Saturday twilight card. The first race had 18 runners. The start was delayed beyond belief. So, there is the ‘delayed start’ complication in Ireland too. Is France immune? On Tuesday at Longchamp, the races were running 30 minutes behind schedule. If the delay is caused by a trainer’s lack of respect for schedules, then the trainer must be held to account. The Saturday Curragh situation was because several of the horses were ‘stall reluctant’ and it is something over which no control can be exercised. Yes, stall-schooling may become more important. Delays are a part of any game.

The Indian breeding industry got a much needed lift when Le Havre came through the rail to land the Jockey Club at Chantilly on Sunday. Le Havre is a son of Noverre. Rahy is Noverre’s sire. Le Havre gave his father his first Grade I win. Noverre was bought by the Sohna Stud Farm from Darley last year. Nancy Sexton, in the Racing Post, has an analysis of Noverre. She says that the most striking feature of Noverre’s progeny is their aversion to soft and heavy ground.

In Epsom Derby news, jockey Seamie Heffernan has said that he would ride Fame And Glory differently when he is up against Sea The Stars next time. “I chased Mick (Kinane) but next time, I will make him chase me, “ Heffernan stated. The fact remains that last Saturday, Sea The Stars was the best. Much of the British press, especially those writers who had backed Fame And Glory, will not accept the fact Sea The Stars was better that day than Fame And Glory.

Here is speculation that is funny. It has been reported that Colm O’Donoghue set the pace on Golden Sword ( what I call a friendly pace) and that Colm moderated the pace to suit Rip Van Winkle. Have you heard anything like this anywhere? I will ask Colm when I see him at the Curragh. If there is a Rip Van Winkle-oriented pace, is there a Fame And Glory-oriented pace as well?

For a moment and it was only for a moment in midstretch, I felt that O’Donoghue was going to make it all. It was a great try. I would have been thrilled beyond measure.

When you go to France, there is a huge British contingent at Longchamp for the Arc. The British joke that the Arc must be moved to Epsom. On Saturday at Epsom, more than half the runners came from Ireland. The top five spots were taken by the Irish. Would it be silly if I said that the Epsom Derby could have been run at the Curragh?

John Oxx talked about the possibility of Sea The Stars going in the Irish Derby on June 28. Oxx belives that heavy ground will not help his colt. To make his point, John Oxx said, “it hasn’t stopped raining in Ireland in two and half years.”

Dunkirk came out of the Belmont Stakes with a problem. I will repeat what I read. Dunkirk has a non-displaced condylar fracture of the left hind cannon bone and had surgery on Tuesday. A screw will be placed in the area to stabilize the injury while it heals. Full recovery is expected and Dunkirk is likely to return to racing this fall. An Unbridled’s Song colt, Dunkirk is owned by the Coolmore group and was a 3-7 million-dollar yearling buy. Dunkirk set the pace in the Belmont Stakes and held for second.

In Japan at Tokyo racecourse on Sunday, the Group I Yasuda Kinen was run. Vodka, the 8-10 favourite, won readily. Yutaka Take rode. K Sumii is the winning trainer. The 1600-metre race was run in 1 33.5. The race carried a total prize money of 2,366,000 dollars. Vodka, the best distaffer in Japan, was winning the Yasuda Kinen two years running. The sire of Vodka is Tanino Gimlet. Vodka was coming off a seven-length romp in the Victoria Mile three weeks ago.

Medaglia d’Oro is Rachel Alexandra’s sire. Darley, owned by Sheikh Mohamed, has bought Medaglia d’Oro. A son of El Prado out of Cappucino Bay, a Bailjumper mare, Medaglia d’Oro has been relocated to Darley’s Jonabell farm near Lexington. The fee will be sixty thousand dollars.

Ffos Las is the name of the new track in England that will hold a jumps meeting on June 18. It will also hold flat races. Several riders, flat and jumps, have offered high praise.

On Sunday at Chantilly, the Prix Diane will be held. It is the French Oaks. The major British representative is Fantasia, a failure in the French 1000 Guineas. Fantasia is trained by Luca Cumani. Trainer Cumani believes that the filly will have a much better showing in the Oaks.

Royal Ascot opens on June 16. Ascot attracts an international cast. The opening day features are the Queen Anne Stakes and the St James Palace Stakes.

Do you remember Goldikova? She was chasing Zarkava last year and ended the season with a decisive win in the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita. It is now confirmed that Goldikova will go in Newmarket’s Falmouth Stakes. In her 2009 reappearance, Goldikova was beaten. Olivier Peslier told me that the filly is doing well and will rebound.

Wesley Ward, an America-based trainer, is coming to Royal Ascot with six runners. Rene Douglas was supposed to ride Ward’s horses. Now, John Velasquez will come over. I am hoping to see trainer Ward. This is an ambitious project that he is embarking upon.

Today, Fairyhouse races in Ireland. Haydock, Beverly, Kempton, Brighton and Hamilton hold meetings in England. It is a beautiful day. The sun is out. A half hour walk before I head to a Ladbrokes store would set me up perfect. I am doing my newspaper (Chicago) work from London. I marvel at technology. I am kept busy but London has a charm that keeps me going.