- Frank Keogh
- BBC Sport
image source, UK press via Getty
The first thing you notice when you walk into Queen Elizabeth II’s holiday home is the full-length statue of her racehorse ‘Estimate’.
The statue at Sandringham bears witness to his enduring love of horse racing, a sport seldom indulged in by a crowned man.
‘Estimated’ won the Gold Cup at the Royal Ascot horse race in 2013. It was the first time in 207 years that a reigning horse had won the race.
“It was the end of a fantastic journey,” John Warren said of the race.
Estimated wins are among the more than 1,800 wins amassed by his horses in horse races. In recognition of the Queen’s contributions to horse racing as a horse owner and breeder in 2021, she was honored in the British Champions Series Hall of Fame.
For the queen, horse racing became a distraction from her serious official duties of global and domestic affairs.
“He would tell me, ‘It’s nice to come to a place that doesn’t smell like fresh paint,'” coach Richard Hannon said. The Racing Post newspaper will be kept together with the Queen’s daily news.
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Horses have been a part of his life since childhood. He learned to ride a Shetland pony named Peggy, given to him by his grandfather George V for his fourth birthday.
During the Second World War, his interest in horse racing grew when he accompanied his father to Wiltshire to watch the training of royal horses. “I was able to knock the horses in the stable,” he later recalled. “Never before had I felt the silky smoothness of a traditional horse.” He said.
The Queen made her first appearance at a horse race in May 1945, two weeks after the end of the war in Europe, when she visited Ascot for the first time with her parents.
The Royal Ascot horse race later became one of his favorite public events. In this, he has tasted a total of 24 victories. Every year bets were placed on what color hat the Queen would wear when she paraded from Windsor Castle – with blue being a popular choice.
The Queen inherited the Royal Stud, a racehorse breeding center at Sandringham, from her father, King George V. Many of the Queen’s most successful horses were bred here.
His first win was in 1949 at Fontwell Park with a horse called Monaveen. He also won the title of owner of the most prize-winning horses in Great Britain twice, in 1954 and 1957.
“He recognizes his horses by sight. “He took an interest in their mental and physical development and talked to the keepers about the horses at length,” said television presenter Clare Balding. His grandfather, father and brother were all trainers of the Queen’s horses.
“A small example of her attention to horses is that the Queen never uses perfume when she comes to the stables to see the horses. “He doesn’t use perfume because it stimulates the testosterone hormone in young horses.”
“The Queen was a keen follower of horse trainer Monty Roberts. The queen followed some of his tricks in horse breeding. For example, young horses are made to walk on a blue carpet so that the horses are not afraid of walking on water.
“As a result of these exercises, the horses perform better when they come to the different racetracks,” he said.
The Queen names the horses to convey clear messages. That is, he named the horses Duty Pound, Constitution and Discretion.
An avid horseman, he demonstrated his gallantry by riding a horse during the Trooping of the Color parade in 1981.
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Trainer Sir Michael Stout, who has seen more than 100 royal horses, including Estimate, win races, said working with the Queen has been a pleasure.
“Coaching Rani with her understanding, deep knowledge and passion for learning was always stress-free,” he said.
“He was always a forward thinker. He thinks about what I am going to do with this animal, whether I am going to breed it, with whom I am going to breed it, their temperament, speed, industriousness. He was fascinated by these ideas.”
His favorite jockey was Frankie Tettori. After winning big races, the two would occasionally share jokes. Tettori recalled that this was also the case after King George VI and Queen Elizabeth’s Ascot victory.
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The Queen has won four out of five British Classic races as owner of horses.
Three days before his Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977 his Dunpermline horse won the Oaks and later the St Leger. Before that, his horse Carossa (Ox Race 1957), Pall Mall (2,000 Guineas Gold Coins in 1958) and Highclere Horse (1,000 Guineas Gold Coins in 1974) won races.
In 1953, the year of the Queen’s coronation, a horse called Arroll did not win the Derby, coming second to Pinza.
Also, in 2012 the horse Carlton House missed the mark and finished third.
12 months after Estimate’s Ascot win, he won £150,000 ($172,000) in prize money. Since then, the queen has won millions in prize money in horse races over the years. Although they were covered by training fees and other expenses, success in the races seemed secondary to the interest in taking part in them.
Warren said the horses were a great opportunity to “escape” from other jobs, and the Queen’s support for British racing was a big boost, he said.
“If she hadn’t been raised as a queen, she would have had a career with horses. Because it was in his DNA,” he said.
Source: BBC.com