‘She was the cool one after our big win!’
WILLIE CARSON has reflected on his long association with the Queen, which is particularly poignant today when the re-scheduled St Leger will be staged at Doncaster.
In 1977 — Silver Jubilee year — Carson won the last Classic of the season wearing the Queen’s colours when riding Dunfermline, trained by Dick Hern, to beat the favourite Alleged, ridden by Lester Piggott.
The victory was part of an amazing summer of success for the Queen because Dunfermline had also won the Oaks at Epsom, a victory which coincided with June’s Silver Jubilee celebrations.
Official engagements had kept the Queen away from Epsom, and she was also unable to be at Doncaster because she was at Balmoral hosting Prime Minister James Callaghan.
But Carson looks back with pride on being part of two of the most successful days’ racing the Queen ever enjoyed as an owner, and two days which had a major influence on his own career.
‘It was a very special time for me as it was my first year as jockey to Major Dick Hern,’ said Carson.
‘The Queen was not able to attend the Oaks or the St Leger, so there is no film of her enjoying it like there is when she won the Ascot Gold Cup with Estimate in 2013. But what Dunfermline did was probably a bigger thing.
‘I felt a bit of pressure. I was in the spotlight with Dick, and there were whispers like: “He won’t be able to take that job on’’. I had that in the back of my mind.
‘Alleged was favourite. We had a pacemaker but for some reason Lester thought the pace wasn’t strong enough for him and he took it up pretty early. I just followed in the slipstream thinking: “This is handy”. We won by a length and a half.
‘I came in on Lester a bit and there was a stewards’ enquiry, which was the most worrying part of the race. But we got away with it.
‘The Queen was at Balmoral and we spoke on the telephone. She didn’t get too excited. She was the cool one! At the time we didn’t realise what we had really done.
‘We didn’t know Alleged was going to go on and be a great racehorse, winning the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe two years running.
‘The Oaks was very special and it was a fairy-tale result. The Queen couldn’t be at Epsom but the most important thing was the Queen Mum was there. She wasn’t going to miss it!
‘When I went up to the Royal Box after the race, she put a glass of champagne in my hand and was really excited.’
Carson won 17 English Classics, including the Derby four times and three St Legers. He was awarded the OBE in 1983. He says his wins on Dunfermline, who also finished fourth in the 1977 Arc, are among his cherished career highlights.
‘The Oaks win especially is right at the top, along with my first Derby on Troy in 1980. It cemented me as a jockey because I was basically an unknown. It was a springboard that got me going.
‘I know for a fact that Dick Hern was very excited about Dunfermline over the winter and in the spring. I rode her during her training routine and I wasn’t that impressed. She was very laid back and didn’t have much personality. She wasn’t exuberant, but just got on and did her job.’
The Queen’s connection with racing and the St Leger will be marked at Doncaster this afternoon.
New London is today’s short-priced favourite to give trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick back-to-back wins in the race, following victory last year with Hurricane Lane.
Early-season ambitions to run New London in the Derby were scrapped after defeat in the Chester Vase in May. But given a short break, he has bounced back stronger, winning both his races, including the Gordon Stakes at Glorious Goodwood last month when one of his chief rivals today, Hoo Ya Mal, was two lengths behind.
New London’s stamina for the mile-and-three-quarter distance is unproven but that is not the case with rival Eldar Eldarov, who won the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot over the same distance.