She’s celebrating her Platinum Jubilee with a four-day bank holiday this weekend, but it’s been reported that horse racing nut Queen Elizabeth II will miss Epsom’s prestigious two-day Derby Festival.
As an owner, the Queen has landed all of the English Classics bar one – the Derby! She has had winners in the fillies’ equivalent on two occasions, however, with Carrozza in 1957 and Dunfermline, who also claimed the St Ledger, in 1977.
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A winner to break her Derby duck would be the icing on the Platinum Jubilee cake for the Queen… but does Lizzie have a runner in the big race?
Alas, no, as her leading three-year-old, Reach For The Moon, was ruled out of the Epsom Derby due to a setback last Autumn which meant the colt was behind in his training programme.
Speaking at the time, joint-trainer John Gosden said: “We had planned to run him in the Dante Stakes at York next week. However, in the best interests of horse we have decided that this race is coming too soon for him. Consequently, he will not run in the Derby and will be pointed towards Royal Ascot.”
Reach For The Moon made an encouraging comeback last month when placing second in the Listed Heron Stakes at Sandown. The Sea The Stars colt is set to be stepped up in trip to 1m4f at Royal Ascot as he holds an entry for the King Edward VII Stakes.
The Queen doesn’t boast an entry in the Oaks either and is not sending a single runner to Epsom for the two-day meeting!
The Queen’s Flat horses are in decent form since the start of the current season in January 2022, with a strike rate of 22 per cent from 46 runs at the start of June.
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