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| Staff Writer |
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Quite possibly the most recognisable racehorse owner in the world, The Queen has had runners in many countries and has won some of the most prestigious races in the Northern Hemisphere. Her racing colours were recognisable the world over, purple with scarlet sleeves, gold braid and a black velvet cap with a gold fringe inherited from her father who had inherited them from his grandfather.
Known mostly for her UK runners, she has also raced horses in Australia before and was an avid follower of the racing scene there and had many a chat with Bart Cummings and Gai Waterhouse, who had taken charge of Carlton House when he moved to her from Sir Michael Stoute. Her connection with Australian racing goes back many years and Carlton House was a notable runner there for her. She had great bloodlines to staying horses and believed that one day she could breed and own a Melbourne Cup winner which was always a dream of hers, but unfortunately, she never had one good enough to send over. In recent times she had a horse named Chalk Stream, with Chris Waller. Chalk Stream finished third in a Group 3 on his first start down under and as a stayer in Australia he has a good future ahead of him.
On February 22nd, 1992, Queen Elizabeth II visited Randwick Racecourse in Sydney and opened the Paddock Stand. She had received a request from Randwick, often nicknamed Royal Randwick due to her previous visit to the track many years earlier, to grant permission for the track to be officially known as Royal Randwick. She subsequently granted that permission to them, and from that day forward, the racecourse was known as Royal Randwick, one of the few Royal racecourses in the world.
The Queen had gained her interest in racing from her father who was himself the owner of a number of British Classic winners including Big Game, Scuttle, Hypericum and Sun Chariot, the latter a female triple crown winner. He had taken the young princess to see the horses at the racing stables and it was there that she fell in love with the magnificent equine beasts. The story is famously told that when she was at the stables with her father that day, she watched them gallop and then spent time with them afterwards and after patting and stroking the horses, she enjoyed the experience so much that she refused to wash her hands for the rest of the day.
Royal Ascot
It would be very difficult to believe that anyone with a connection to horse racing in all four corners of the world, would not have heard of Royal Ascot, the quality of the racing and the tradition that goes along with the festival which has been run since 1768. With the innovation of superior equine travel on aeroplanes, the world has become a smaller place and the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting in June is now much more accessible to horses from around the Globe. In recent years we have seen superstars from Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and the USA turn up for races, some going home with the prize. At Royal Ascot it is not just about winning the races that is important, it is also about taking part in the occasion, dressing in your finery, and taking in all the history and pageantry that is involved throughout the week. To get an introduction to The Queen through your involvement in racing was a huge part of the event and often influenced worldwide connections to enter their horses there. There are five days of high-class top-quality action with nineteen Group Races including eight Group 1 races. The highlight of the week is the 2m 4f Gold Cup on Ladies Day and in 2013, Estimate The Queen’s mare surged to Gold Cup glory at the Royal meeting. The estimate was a daughter of the German bred Monsun, himself a Group 1 winning stayer. Estimate won five of her thirteen races, three of them at Ascot and won the Queen’s Vase at the Royal meeting as a three-year-old. She had run in her prep race in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot winning comfortably. On the big day, she did not disappoint, sent off the 7/2 favourite by punters, the finish of the race was close, the French-trained Top Trip challenged first followed by the Willie Mullins-trained gelding Simenon, but try as hard as they could, the mare kept on finding more under an inspired Ryan Moore ride to prevail by a neck. The Queen and her trusted racing manager John Warren were filmed laughing away excitedly in the Royal box like enthusiastic children as the mare crossed the line, and television pictures were relayed all around the world of the two of them in a show of affection that showed off her human side. Estimate’s only subsequent win was the following year in the Doncaster Cup and soon after she was retired as a broodmare.
Over the years she had many Royal Ascot winners, but those days stand out by far, to see the smile on her face brought pleasure to millions of people.
The Classics
The Queen very nearly won The Derby in her Coronation year, her horse Aureole running second to Pinza and it proved to be the only classic to elude her in her lifetime. Carlton House also went close in 2011 but he lost out in a blanket finish to the French colt Pour Moi when looking like winning half a furlong from home. Most of Her Majesty’s horses were home-bred and that included her star filly Dunfermline who won The Oaks and St Leger in 1977, the Silver Jubilee year. Ridden by Willie Carson and trained by Major Dick Hern, the daughter of Royal Palace had already won The Oaks comfortably enough when it was decided to up her in trip and target St Leger over two furlongs further. Her performance in St Leger stands out for many as arguably her best-ever performance as she inflicted the only defeat on the great Irish-trained colt Alleged, the two pulling clear of the field. In a prolonged battle up the Doncaster straight, Dunfermline under Willie Carson and Alleged under Lester Piggott went head for the head with the former proving the stronger winning by a length and a half as her stamina came into play. Connections, with The Queen’s input, had put plenty of thought into the race and opted to run a pacemaker Gregarious to ensure a fast race to suit their star filly and he did, and as Alleged cruised past him, Dunfermline was on his tail and outstayed him to the line. One of the great English Classic races.
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Aureole was a successful British racehorse, owned by The Queen and bred by her father King George VI. He ran fourteen times winning on eleven occasions, finishing second in both the Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. As a four-year-old he excelled, winning at Epsom and Royal Ascot before going on to be a successful stallion, siring a Derby winner an Arc winner and two St Leger winners.
The Queen had a total of six classic winners, from four horses. Carrozza in 1957 was her first success when landing The Oaks and in addition to Dunfermline, she won the 2,000 Guineas with Pall Mall and Height Of Fashion won in France and the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket.
The Queen, who was fluent in French was particularly excited in 1974 when her filly Highclere won the French Oaks at Chantilly. Having won the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket earlier in the year, there was a worry about her staying the twelve-furlong trip of The Oaks, so they decided to opt for a different route. Ridden by Joe Mercer and trained by Major Dick Hern, the Queen was in attendance as their plan to deliberately miss the Epsom Oaks was rewarded with a comfortable victory. The Queen had received a tremendous welcome from the French public pre-racing, being driven along the course in an open-top car to acknowledge them, and she was roundly cheered when collecting the trophy. Highclere was retired after eight races, but became a very important broodmare for future generations, being the Dam of Height of Fashion who herself went on to produce Epsom Derby winner Nashwan and multiple Group winning horses Nayef and Unfuwain.
Pall Mall had become the Queen’s first winner of the 2,000 Guineas in 1958 as an unfancied 20/1 outsider. Trained by Cecil Boyd-Rochfort in Newmarket the colt had won the classic trial at Thirsk en-route and on the day of the race, he proved too strong for the rest staying on strongly from the dip to prevail by a length and a half. Her Majesty was unfortunately not present due to illness but listened to the race at The Palace.
Active breeding programme
The Queen often said that it was the breeding side of horse racing that she enjoyed most, from the planning, the foaling and then the training to eventually seeing all the hard work come to fruition when the horse made it to the racetrack, no matter what ability they eventually showed. Many of her horses can trace their breeding lines back through horses that she had previously bred and who had been successful for her on the track.
The Queen employed a number of top trainers over the years, Major Dick Hern probably the most successful with the most well known in recent seasons being Sir Michael Stoute, John Gosden, Roger Charlton, Michael Bell, Richard Hannon, Clive Cox, Andrew Balding and Richard Hughes, the latter also rode her a Royal Ascot winner on Free Agent. They all say similar things about Her Majesty, but what stands out in what they relate is how gracious she was, how willing to help others out she was and also her encyclopaedic knowledge of racing, it was no good greeting her on the gallops if you did not know everything about the horse or horses that you were there to see because she did! She also had a few National Hunt runners with Nicky Henderson and Charlie Longsdon being the main trainers. Henderson had trained her as a Cheltenham Festival runner in Barbers Shop.
Lord Huntingdon trained for the Queen for twenty years and had taken over at West Ilsley from Major Dick Hern, big shoes to fill! He was responsible for her first Grade 1 winner in the USA when Unknown Quantity won the Arlington Handicap in 1989. He was also responsible for winning the Royal Hunt Cup with Colour Sergeant in 1992 and three years later he produced Phantom Gold in peak condition to land the Ribblesdale Stakes.
Her racing manager John Warren was quoted as saying that the Queen's ability to get pleasure out of any horse was remarkable and in a way that kind of sums up her love of the animal and the sport. Her final winner was with the filly Love Affairs at Goodwood, just two days before she died.