Whether you are a mouse, a man or an O'Brien, your best-laid schemes can go agley. Young Joseph of the latter ilk may have given Camelot an inch-perfect ride to take the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday, but two days later at the Curragh he for once seemed to get the fractions wrong on one of the Ballydoyle older stars, St Nicholas Abbey.

Mark Frankland, who has died suddenly aged 77, was a star foreign correspondent at The Observer in an era when that paper fielded a galaxy of renowned overseas reporters.

Astonishingly, they think these sisters ooze class. Have they lost their marbles? A Page 3 girl would make a better role model

The news that Simon Cowell supposedly had a fling with his fellow X Factor judge Dannii Minogue filled the weekend's tabloids. The story comes from Tom Bower's new biography of the publicity-friendly music mogul, in which Cowell admitted that he "had a crush" on Minogue, adding, "it was genuine love".

Rangers will face Irish Premiership champions Linfield in a money-raising game at Windsor Park on May 7.

Whisper it not but I think I have found a role for those 5,000 head teachers that the new Chief Inspector of Schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw, says are not up to scratch.

Former Northern Ireland player Paul McVeigh has urged the Irish Football Association to drop God Save The Queen as their national anthem and consider a move from Windsor Park.

Sir David Attenborough has been voted our finest national treasure. But look who else is on the list – and who isn't

There was better news for embattled Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today when Liberal Democrats captured a seat from their Tory coalition partners in the latest council by-elections.

Commons Speaker John Bercow has ordered an "entirely independent" investigation into how a protester was able to throw a plate of shaving foam at Rupert Murdoch in Parliament.

The man responsible for yesterday’s ‘custard pie’ attack on the Murdochs, which quickly became known online as “Piegate”, was named as Jonathan May-Bowles, an amateur comedian, former student of Royal Holloway University and anti-cuts activist from Windsor.

Harbhajan Singh took his 400th Test wicket as India bowled the West Indies out for 204 on the second afternoon of the third Test at Windsor Park in Dominica.

West Indies 75-3 v India

With Royal Ascot in full swing, Anthea Masey finds wealthy buyers in a commuter haven where palatial piles are routinely demolished to make way for even larger homes