Picked a winner,
Queen joins glamorous racegoers on the final day
THE QUEEN was in great spirits as she returned to Royal Ascot for the first time in two years yesterday.
The keen horse racing fan was forced to miss the event for the first time in her then 68-year reign, last summer, when it was held behind closed doors because of the pandemic.
In past years the Queen would also attend throughout the fiveday event, however she missed the first four days since the meeting began on Tuesday, despite having some of her horses running.
It was understood she watched the racing through the week from nearby Windsor Castle and her racing manager, John Warren, said she begins each day reading the Racing Post.
But for the final day, under grey skies, she brought a splash of summer colour in an Angela Kelly outfit
‘Plenty won bets
on Queen’s hat’
which included a pleated mint coat and matching hat, with red and pink fabric roses, and a pink and mint floral dress.
Her Majesty, 95, also chose the Palm Leaf Brooch, which had belonged to the Queen Mother, also an avid racing fan.
Glamorous racegoers also ensured the fashion stakes were high as hats were fashionably adorned with flowers, feathers and beading, while many also had face masks that matched their vibrant ensembles.
The Queen arrived in her burgundy Rolls-royce and waved to racegoers who stood to cheer and applaud. The traditional carriage procession that usually precedes each day’s racing did not take place this year.
The Queen was there to cheer on four of her horses running in her colours of purple and gold.
Over the past three decades she is believed to have won around £7million in prize money from horse racing but yesterday lady luck was not on her side.
During the races she was not seen in the royal box, opting to watch them privately, but had the chance to inspect her horses in the Parade Ring after they crossed the finish line.
She looked delighted when the first to run, Reach For The Moon, finished a close second during the
Chesham Stakes race at 2.30pm and could not hide her joy as she chatted to jockey Frankie Dettori and trainer John Gosden following the race. She then inspected
Tactical and Light Refrain ahead of the second race, however the pair failed to shine coming in seventh and eleventh out of 18 runners in the Jersey Stakes at
3.05pm. Her final horse, gelding King’s Lynn, which was favourite, came a respectful third, narrowly missing out in The Wokingham Stakes race at 5pm. The Queen
spoke to jockey Ryan Moore before leaving Ascot, still with a smile on her face, and appearing to have fully enjoyed her day at the races as a crowd gathered to cheer and applaud her on her way.
Punters also like to bet on the colour of the Queen’s hat and this year bookmakers had said the most popular predictions were blue and green due to the change in weather.
Nicola Mcgeady, of Ladbrokes, said: “Punters could finally enjoy a flutter on the colour of the Queen’s hat after waiting patiently for her arrival all week.
“Green was the colour that attracted the majority of bets, so plenty of punters have got the day off to a great start.”