The Queen

The Platinum Jubilee celebrations may have been in full swing on Saturday, but The Queen still found time to telephone Sir Michael Stoute to congratulate him on winning the Cazoo Derby with Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). Her Majesty had been due to attend Epsom for the Derby as she has done regularly through her 70-year reign, but instead had to watch from home as she was advised to "pace herself" through the four days of events, which saw her twice appear on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with members...

A maquette bronze of The Queen with a Mare and Foal has been added as the last lot at the Goffs London Sale in association with Privat 3 Money on June 13, the eve of Royal Ascot. The auction will raise funds for the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket, of which Her Majesty is the patron. The statue, which measures 60 cm x 45cm x 40cm, is a maquette of the original bronze--created by Etienne Millner and Charlie Langton--that stands in Newmarket at the entrance to the Rowley Mile. The...

The flag at Somerville Lodge in Newmarket is at half-mast. For the inhabitants of that famous stable it is of course a deeply personal gesture as Maureen Haggas and her family mourn the death of her father Lester Piggott. Over the decades they will have become accustomed to the fact that the head of their family was also a racing icon--a man not just whose name is the first jockey a random member of the public can call to mind, but for many longstanding fans of racing the man who...

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...

Only Choisir (Aus) and Blue Point (Ire) have managed to win the King's Stand and the Platinum Jubilee in the same year but Eddie Lynam has opened the door to his Group 1-winning sprinter Romantic Proposal (Ire) (Raven's Pass) emulating those legendary speedsters at Royal Ascot next month and is eyeing an audacious tilt at the double. Romantic Proposal showed blistering speed in winning the G1 Flying Five S. at the Curragh last season and, despite treating the Listed Woodlands S. at Naas like a piece of work on her...

A quintet of Her Majesty The Queen's former racehorses-Barbers Shop (GB) (Saddlers' Hall {Ire}), First Receiver (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), Quadrille (GB) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), Prince's Trust (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), and Forth Bridge (GB) (Bernardini)--will parade at Epsom Downs Racecourse on Cazoo Derby Day, June 4. The parade, which is part of a tribute to The Queen's contribution to the horseracing and breeding industry, was organized by Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) and The Jockey Club. The monarch will be in attendance for the G1 Cazoo Derby, which is part...

The Queen's Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who will not point to the G1 Cazoo Derby, has been entered in Thursday's Listed Coral Heron S. at Sandown instead. A runner for John and Thady Gosden, the colt won the G3 Solario S. as a juvenile. He will face his stablemate, Cheveley Park Stud's imposing Group 1 winner Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), in that contest.

Ascot Racecourse and the Crown Estate welcomed a total of 70 schools at a ceremony to celebrate 70 new oak trees planted as part of The Queen's Green Canopy 'Plant a tree for the jubilee' project at Windsor Great Park. The trees have been planted next to the Royal Procession route from Windsor Castle to Ascot Racecourse, along Duke's Lane. Nick Smith, Director of Racing and Public Affairs at Ascot Racecourse, said, "We were thrilled to welcome all 70 schools to the ceremony in celebration of this project which will...

Ninety-one entries have been taken for the G1 Cazoo Derby, which is set to be run for the 243rd time at Epsom Downs on June 4. This year's Derby will include Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Her Majesty The Queen, and the Derby features three entries from her stable, headed by her homebred G3 Solario S. winner Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), trained by John and Thady Gosden. Champion 2-year-old Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) is nominated, as are top 2021 2-year-olds like El Bodegon (Ire)...

In the concluding part of the series reflecting on the Queen's long attachment to thoroughbred racing and breeding, John Berry considers the prospect of a royal Derby runner in the year of the Platinum Jubilee The most significant addition to the royal roster of trainers came in the autumn of 1966, when some of that year's yearlings were sent to the West Ilsley stable of Major Dick Hern. This was the start of a wonderful partnership, which in time saw Hern become as synonymous with the royal string as formerly...

As the celebrations marking the Queen's Platinum Jubilee commence in Britain, we continue our three-part series reflecting on Her Majesty's longstanding commitment to the Turf, written by John Berry  Aureole, who had been bred by the Queen's father, was a wonderful standard-bearer at the outset of her reign. While her father had been alive, she and her mother had begun owning jumpers, jointly enjoying their first National Hunt success when the Peter Cazalet-trained Monaveen (racing in the same colours which Astrakhan bore at Hurst Park) had won over fences at...

On the eve of The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, The Jockey Club has revealed some early details of the plans in place to mark the celebration at the Cazoo Derby festival at Epsom Downs on June 3 and 4. With The Queen confirmed to attend the Derby alongside members of the Royal Family, tens of thousands of fans will be permitted to attend the raceday, with The Hill also re-opened for the first time in two years. The Hill will this year include a ticketed Jubilee Family Celebration section, with other...