Her Majesty The Queen

Her Majesty The Queen has agreed to be the royal patron of York Racecourse, it was announced on Monday. Both The King and The Queen have a keen interest in both racing and breeding, with the bloodstock interests of the late Queen Elizabeth II having passed into their joint ownership. This latest role builds on existing links to the sport for Her Majesty, notably as patron of the National Stud as well as being president of the Ebony Horse Club, a riding charity in Brixton, London. York Racecourse chairman, Bridget...

Group 3 winner and Classic-placed Desert Hero (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who races for The King and The Queen, will not travel to Australia and contest the G1 Melbourne Cup in November. Instead, he will be given a break and will return as a 4-year-old. Trained by William Haggas, the son of Desert Breeze (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) won the G3 Gordon S. in August and was third to Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) in the G1 St Leger at Doncaster on Sept. 16. John Warren, racing adviser to the...

Her Majesty The Queen paid a rescheduled visit to the British Racing School in Newmarket on Thursday, June 1, to mark the school's 40th anniversary. The Queen was given a full tour of the school, met current students, staff and horses, and then unveiled a special plaque to commemorate her visit and celebrate the school's four decades, during which it has trained thousands of young people to be able to excel in Britain's second biggest spectator sport, horse racing. She also visited the Newmarket Pony Academy, a community project run...

It has been another banner week for the breeze-up sector, not to mention the burgeoning Bahraini participation in European racing.  Following Classic victories for Cachet (Ire), Native Trail (GB) and Eldar Eldarov (GB), more graduates of the two-year-old sales scene lifted one of last weekend's major races in Britain, the G2 Mill Reef Stakes, and also the G3 Stockholm Cup.  Sakheer (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) was imperious in the Mill Reef, and was the standout in a magnificent seven winners on Saturday for Roger Varian, which also included landing a Group...

Where to begin? The past week has been so wrought with emotion that by the time Sunday arrived with its 15 group races in England, Ireland and France only the dourest of stayers made it through to Doncaster's Mallard Handicap. This is a racing publication, of course, but before we reflect on the action on the racecourse, it would be remiss not to mention the heartbreaking human loss which was so intrinsically entwined with the sport.  Grief engulfed two nations. Wednesday brought the indelibly sad image of Henry de Bromhead...

On a dreich Scottish Thursday the unthinkable but inevitable finally happened and Britain's second Elizabethan era came to a peaceful end in a Highland idyll. For anyone in Britain born after 1952, all we have ever known is the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. There will be plenty of people who, for understandable reasons, do not approve of the monarchy. And it has not been uncommon to hear people express an anti-monarchist view while adding, "But I like the Queen". How the passing of such a steadfast presence will affect...

Following the death of Her Majesty the Queen at Balmoral, Thursday evening's meetings at Southwell and Chelmsford were both abandoned, and no racing will take place in Britain on Friday.  A further announcement will be made on Friday regarding plans for Saturday's racing, which includes the final Classic of the British season, the St Leger, a race won by the Queen's homebred Dunfermline (GB) in 1977, the year of her Silver Jubilee. News regarding plans for the period of national mourning leading up to the Queen's funeral are expected to...

Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth, as well as being one of the world's most enthusiastic and knowledgeable racehorse owner-breeders, died on Thursday at Balmoral. She was 96 years old. The reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was not merely the longest in British history, but was also one of the most successful. Leading by example, she steered her country through the momentous changes of the past seven decades. She ascended the throne as the sun was setting on the British Empire and...

While Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Epsom understandably focus on the Derby, we should remember that that great race, in which she owned the runner-up Aureole (GB) just days after her Coronation in 1953, is not the only big race at the meeting which has close links to Britain's Royal Family.  Arguably even stronger are the ties which bind Epsom's big weight-for-age race, the G1 Coronation Cup, to the monarchy. This prestigious contest is run over the Derby course for 4-year-olds and upwards and serves as the natural target...

Royal trainers William Haggas, Michael Bell and John and Thady Gosden will open the doors of their stables for a series of Royal Yard Tours this summer to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Discover Newmarket will host the tours, which offer visitors a behind-the-scenes look at Somerville Lodge, Fitzroy House, and Clarehaven, where Her Majesty has horses in training. The royal trainers will also take guests to the Gallops-- the training grounds around Newmarket. The full-day tour includes a visit to the National Stud, where a stallion parade will be...

As part of the official Platinum Jubilee celebrations in Britain, Her Majesty The Queen will be given a guard of honour of 40 retired and current jockeys on her arrival at Epsom on Cazoo Derby Day. The Derby meeting on June 3 and 4 falls within an extended bank holiday weekend which will feature countrywide celebrations to mark the Queen's 70th anniversary on the throne. Epsom Downs Racecourse will further honour the occasion by renaming the Queen's Stand as The Queen Elizabeth II Stand. The Derby is the only one...

High-class stayer Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and G1 Cazoo Derby hopeful Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) will both be in action at York in mid-May, co-trainer John Gosden revealed. The former holds an entry in the G2 Paddy Power Yorkshire Cup S. on May 13. After winning the G2 Doncaster Cup S. in September, the Bjorn Nielsen-owned chestnut ran second in the G1 Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp a month later, and finished his season with a third in the G2 British Champions Long...