The Queen and Epsom Downs

T H E Q U E E N A N D E P S O M D O W N S

The 2022 Cazoo Derby forms part of the official Platinum Jubilee celebrations, marking 70 years since Her Majesty ascended to the throne on February 6th 1952.

The Queen’s longevity as a racehorse owner and her support for Epsom Downs Racecourse is unrivalled. Until the COVID-19 pandemic she had only missed attending Derby Day twice – in 1956 when on a state visit to Sweden, and in 1984 when attending the 40th anniversary of D-Day commemoration in France. Her Majesty’s involvement as a racehorse owner began in 1949 and spans nine decades, featuring many highlights at Epsom Downs, including two victories in the Group One fillies’ Classic, The Oaks. Her golden era as a racehorse owner was in the 1950s. Just four days after her Coronation, the monarch was at the sun-drenched Epsom Downs on June 6th 1953 with a reported crowd of more than 500,000 people present to witness her first Derby runner, Aureole. Sent off at odds of 9-1 for trainer Sir Cecil Boyd-Rochfort and jockey Harry Carr following the colt’s Lingfield Derby Trial victory, Aureole finished four lengths second to Pinza – the closest Her Majesty has come to winning the world’s most famous Flat race. The Queen experienced her first major victory at the historic course the following year. Aureole, bred by The Queen’s father King George VI, returned to Epsom Downs 12 months after finishing second in The Derby to win the Coronation Cup easily as a four-year-old. Aureole also won the 1954 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot and went on to be champion sire in 1960 and 1961, with his best progeny including the 1960 Derby winner St Paddy. It was in 1957 that Her Majesty first enjoyed Classic success in The Oaks, thanks to Carrozza, who was leased to her by The National Stud. Her Majesty was accompanied to Epsom Downs by HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and HRH Princess Margaret and they cheered home the Noel Murless-trained Carrozza, who started at 100-8 and held off Silken Glider by a short-head under a youthful Lester Piggott, who kicked on two furlongs out. Amid huge cheering, Her Majesty led her three year old filly into the famous winner’s enclosure at Epsom Downs and she has been a regular visitor to the racecourse ever since. It was two decades later, appropriately the Silver Jubilee year of 1977, that Her Majesty enjoyed her second Oaks success. Dunfermline, a filly bred by The Queen’s Royal Studs at Sandringham and trained by Dick Hern, prevailed by three quarters of a length from Freeze The Secret, with The Queen watching on television due to official duties. The filly went on to confirm her brilliance when beating Alleged in the final British Classic of the season, the St Leger, at Doncaster. It was 30 years after Church Parade finished fifth in the 1981 Derby that Her Majesty had her next Derby runner and 10th in all in 2011. The newly-married Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were among family members who travelled to Epsom Downs to support Her Majesty and Carlton House. The Street Cry colt was sent off the 5-2 favourite on the back of an impressive Dante Stakes victory at York. There was huge media interest, but there was to be no fairytale result. Carlton House, ridden by Ryan Moore and trained by Sir Michael Stoute, lost a shoe and finished third, a length behind the successful French raider Pour Moi. The Queen also went close to further Oaks glory in 2001, when her homebred Flight Of Fancy finished second, one and a quarter lengths adrift of the winner Imagine. Her Majesty was champion owner in both 1954 and 1957. She has enjoyed success in the other two British Classics, the 2000 Guineas and 1000 Guineas over a mile at Newmarket, thanks to Pall Mall (1958) and Highclere (1974) respectively. The Queen takes great joy in spending time with her horses, at the Royal Studs and at their training yards, to which she has been a frequent visitor. Her horses are foaled at Sandringham, and go as yearlings to Polhampton Stud near Newbury before joining one of her trainers. A patron of both The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, The Queen also received two of the most prestigious awards in racing, taking the Cartier Millennium Award of Merit in 2000, and the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Charitable Trust Award in 2002. The Queen’s involvement in the equine world stretches far beyond racing. As well as thoroughbreds, she has bred Highland ponies, Cleveland Bays, polo ponies and sports horses – including Doublet, who carried her daughter Princess Anne to victory in the 1971 European Eventing Championships.