Royal Windsor racecourse had a run of the mill seven-race card Monday afternoon but there is nothing mundane about a day at the races at Royal Windsor. There is a magical quality about Windsor that defies description. Monday was a great day for racing. The skies were overcast but there was no threat of rain. A jacket made perfect sense but it was a typical autumn afternoon that did not demand a departure from summer attire.

From Paddington, I took a train to Slough. It was a 20-minute trip. At Slough, a train was waiting in the next platform. It is a short ride from Slough to Windsor. There is a fashionable shopping area and there are eating places catering to every conceivable taste. I took a taxi to the racecourse. The ride lasted five or six minutes. From the Windsor train station, you could take a ferry that takes you to a jetty just outside the track.

I was greeted by Matthew Foxton-Duffy, Director of sales and marketing. Before the first race, I wanted to have a word with Richard Hughes. He was being interviewed. I waited.

“You know, I have been lucky. After coming back from the ban, I have been riding a lot of winners,” Hughes said.

“If Paco Boy goes to the Breeders’ Cup, I might be in America. Not likely, though. I am getting rides on new horses. This has been one of my best seasons.”

I asked Richard about his trip to Pune in October. “Yes, I am going. I will be in India, may be, for eight hours. Take a helicopter from Bombay. I know Autonomy. I won with him in Bombay.”

I was taken to the Directors’ box from where I watched the first race. Memphis Man, an outsider, won much to the delight of the bookmakers.

Richard Hughes rode two winners. He connected with Sequillo in a nursery race. Sequillo was the 2-1 favourite. In the seventh race, Higgy’s Boy, at 8-1, gave Hughes his second winner.

Ryan Moore had two winners. Enact, a debutante from Sir Michael Stoute’s yard, won. Moore’s other winner was Majeen who beat Special Reserve, Hughes up, by a neck.

Richard Hughes rode Penny’s Gift to victory at Ascot last Friday. At the Curragh on Sunday, he steered Soul City to a start to finish win in the Geoffs Million. Penny’s Gift and Soul City are trained by Richard Hannon. Minor Vamp, ridden by Mick Kinane, gave trainer Hannon another high profile win at the Curragh on Sunday.  Jockey Hughes was second with Bailey’s Cacao. Autonomy’s connections must be pleased with Hughes’s riding form.

Bath and Brighton, two British tracks, were going at the same time. Roscommon, in Ireland, had a mixed flat-jumps card. You could wager on these races at the Tote and with Ladbrokes, the bookmaking outfit.

A quarter called the ‘Southern Rag-A-Jazz’ played near the paddock. It was music worth listening to. Every point of entry is zealously watched. Badges will have to be displayed prominently. Courtesy is the key word at Windsor.

I stopped at the winner’s enclosure to congratulate jockey Hughes. “I will be in Paris this Sunday. I will ride Darjina in the Sun Chariot at Newmarket on Saturday.”

Windsor racecourse is in the shape of ‘8’ and is a little over 2,400 metres in extent. There is a 1000-metre run-in. Races over 1,200 metres start over an extension of the 1000-metre straight.

A left turn and a short walk after exiting the track takes you to the jetty. The fare is three pounds. It is a slow deliberate sail.  There is a bar on board. About 15 minutes and you arrive at the town centre. You see the Windsor castle ahead. There is a five-minute uphill walk and you are at the Windsor station.

Zarkava has drifted to 7-4 for the Arc at Longchamp on Sunday. Duke of Marmalade is a 7-2 chance. Soldier of Fortune is at 9-2. Two French racing journalists I spoke to at Ascot were absolutely convinced that Zarkava will be hard to stop.

I leave London for Paris on Thursday. I will take in harness action at Vincennes on Friday. Time permitting, I may go to Saint Cloud for the daytime flat card on Friday. Longchamp races are on Saturday and Sunday.