Report on Prince Harry's day at Ascot Races Deputising for the Queen
As I mentioned on another thread, today, Saturday 23 July 2011, is a very important day in the flat racing calendar, as it is the day of The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, which is held at Ascot, the Berkshire racecourse, which, as many members of TRF will know, is owned by the Queen.
The day is not part of the Royal Ascot Meeting of course, but as the race takes place to commemorate HM Queen’s late parents, there is usually a significant ‘Royal Presence’ at the course. In years gone by, the Queen Mother was always present, usually with the Queen and sometimes Prince Philip. It has to be said, though, that Prince Philip is always a reluctant race-goer, possibly because he is more of a 'participant' than a spectator when it comes to equestrian matters, as he was a very accomplished polo player and competitive carriage driver. When it comes to spectator sports, he vastly prefers watching cricket to watching racing!
The Queen Mother and latterly the Queen both presented the Trophy when they attended the meeting and so I was hopeful that the Queen would be present today, because the course is 'just down the road' from Windsor, the Queen's weekend residence, and this is usually her last weekend in Berkshire before she leaves for a couple of months' holidays at Balmoral.
When I arrived at the Racecourse this morning, I discovered that the Queen was not going to be present, but, rather interestingly for a Royal-Watcher, I saw that Prince Harry was expected, deputising for the Queen.
We have had a lot of rain in Berkshire recently, and so I was delighted to find that the day was dry, if not very sunny. Ascot Racecourse is doing its best to promote racing as what I suppose one could call a 'fun day out' for everyone, not just 'serious racegoers' and so a cocktail party was being held as well, with a band scheduled to play at the racecourse at the end of the day's racing.
Prince Harry was dressed in a lounge suit, as the event is not formal like Royal Ascot, and therefore the strict 'Morning Dress' code does not apply. Smart dress however is required in the Members' [Premier] Enclosure, which means lounge suits, with the ladies mostly wearing hats as well, even though hats are not compulsory. [I always wear a hat at the Races - after all, you never know, the Queen MIGHT see you!! ]
As Harry came down to the Paddock for the first race, [NB Royal family members usually visit the Paddock only for feature races, events and presentations of special interest, or when there is a Royal Runner in a race] I noticed that as he moved around, he was with a small group of young people, including several pretty girls! Some of the people he was talking with were connected to the world of racing and some were evidently just his friends.
The first race featured young female jockeys, who were all standing on the raised dais, [the area where presentations are made to the winning connections]. Harry posed happily with these ladies, talking and laughing. One of the jockeys was riding one of the Queen's horses, and so was wearing the royal racing colours. I also noted that Harry moved about in the paddock meeting and greeting people - rather interestingly for me, I noticed that many of the female friends he greeted all 'double-kissed' him on the cheeks. As a fairly-seasoned 'royal watcher', I could not help but contrast this with occasions when Prince Charles was Harry's age - the PoW's appearances, even at 'informal events', were always rather formal in manner - I can NEVER remember friends kissing him at all!
At the start of the 'King George' [the meeting's so-called 'Feature' race], Harry and various companions again came down to the paddock to inspect the runners. Again, he walked about meeting people. I was interested to note that Harry was carrying a pen with his Race Card[list of horses and jockeys]. Usually, keen racegoers carry a pen to mark their selections for betting purposes. An unroyal naughty though crossed my mind - was HRH having a bet on the horses? [mind you, he would not have been the first royal to do so- both the Queen and the late QM reputedly liked a bet; indeed, experienced race-goers at Royal Ascot used to claim that they could spot the particular member of the Household staff who had been charged with the task of placing the royal bets, as the gentleman used to 'peel off' from the Royal Party and head towards the betting part of the course!!] Harry then met the jockeys of the 5 runners. The horses then left the Paddock to parade in front of the stands before going down to the start.
Workforce was the favourite, but Rewilding, written by famous jockey Frankie Dettori, was strongly fancied by many people. I backed Nathaniel, a horse that I had seen previously at Ascot, as I had found his previous performances very impressive. I should make it clear, though, that I only put very modest amounts of money on a horse - £2 [$3.50] max, just for a bit of interest on the occasional race.
Unfortunately, in the final part of the race, Rewilding sustained a fatal injury and Frankie Dettori was thrown to the ground and taken off in an ambulance. The race was won by Nathaniel, an improving 3 year old; this was quite interesting as it has been some years since a 3 year old has run the race. The winning horse and jockey then returned to the Paddock for the presentation, but the atmosphere was one of great sorrow rather than joy because of the death of Rewilding. I did notice that John Gosden, the trainer of the winning horse, put all thoughts of his own winning horse aside and rushed to the stricken Rewilding to see what he could do to help. I thought that his behaviour was most dignified - he had just trained the winner of one of - if not THE most important middle-distance races in the calendar, but his thoughts were only on the stricken horse trained by one of his rivals.
Prince Harry then mounted the dais to present the trophy, but the atmosphere was one of sorrow; race-goers in the paddock, usually so keen to cheer the winning horse were all shocked into silence by what had happened. I thought that Prince Harry carried out the presentation with appropriate dignity. Prince Harry then presented other awards to the victorious young jockey, William Buick. Before taking his prize though, I was touched that William Buick first offered his condolences to all those connected with Rewilding.
I stayed until the final race but chose to end my day early and come back home without staying for the finale of the cocktail party, as I found the events of the afternoon rather upsetting. Rewilding was found to have broken his cannon bone; this injury was not due to pressure or inappropriate treatment in the race as, sadly, this is the sort of problem that can arise if a horse is just simply running in a field alongside other horses.
All in all, this was a sad end to Harry's day of deputising for his Grandmother. It was so good to see him at the Racecourse and I did think at the start of the day that perhaps he was there because he was interested in racing rather than just there to deputise for his grandmother. I trust therefore that the sad events of today do not put Harry off a day at the races with his friends.
As I mentioned on another thread, today, Saturday 23 July 2011, is a very important day in the flat racing calendar, as it is the day of The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, which is held at Ascot, the Berkshire racecourse, which, as many members of TRF will know, is owned by the Queen.
The day is not part of the Royal Ascot Meeting of course, but as the race takes place to commemorate HM Queen’s late parents, there is usually a significant ‘Royal Presence’ at the course. In years gone by, the Queen Mother was always present, usually with the Queen and sometimes Prince Philip. It has to be said, though, that Prince Philip is always a reluctant race-goer, possibly because he is more of a 'participant' than a spectator when it comes to equestrian matters, as he was a very accomplished polo player and competitive carriage driver. When it comes to spectator sports, he vastly prefers watching cricket to watching racing!
The Queen Mother and latterly the Queen both presented the Trophy when they attended the meeting and so I was hopeful that the Queen would be present today, because the course is 'just down the road' from Windsor, the Queen's weekend residence, and this is usually her last weekend in Berkshire before she leaves for a couple of months' holidays at Balmoral.
When I arrived at the Racecourse this morning, I discovered that the Queen was not going to be present, but, rather interestingly for a Royal-Watcher, I saw that Prince Harry was expected, deputising for the Queen.
We have had a lot of rain in Berkshire recently, and so I was delighted to find that the day was dry, if not very sunny. Ascot Racecourse is doing its best to promote racing as what I suppose one could call a 'fun day out' for everyone, not just 'serious racegoers' and so a cocktail party was being held as well, with a band scheduled to play at the racecourse at the end of the day's racing.
Prince Harry was dressed in a lounge suit, as the event is not formal like Royal Ascot, and therefore the strict 'Morning Dress' code does not apply. Smart dress however is required in the Members' [Premier] Enclosure, which means lounge suits, with the ladies mostly wearing hats as well, even though hats are not compulsory. [I always wear a hat at the Races - after all, you never know, the Queen MIGHT see you!! ]
As Harry came down to the Paddock for the first race, [NB Royal family members usually visit the Paddock only for feature races, events and presentations of special interest, or when there is a Royal Runner in a race] I noticed that as he moved around, he was with a small group of young people, including several pretty girls! Some of the people he was talking with were connected to the world of racing and some were evidently just his friends.
The first race featured young female jockeys, who were all standing on the raised dais, [the area where presentations are made to the winning connections]. Harry posed happily with these ladies, talking and laughing. One of the jockeys was riding one of the Queen's horses, and so was wearing the royal racing colours. I also noted that Harry moved about in the paddock meeting and greeting people - rather interestingly for me, I noticed that many of the female friends he greeted all 'double-kissed' him on the cheeks. As a fairly-seasoned 'royal watcher', I could not help but contrast this with occasions when Prince Charles was Harry's age - the PoW's appearances, even at 'informal events', were always rather formal in manner - I can NEVER remember friends kissing him at all!
At the start of the 'King George' [the meeting's so-called 'Feature' race], Harry and various companions again came down to the paddock to inspect the runners. Again, he walked about meeting people. I was interested to note that Harry was carrying a pen with his Race Card[list of horses and jockeys]. Usually, keen racegoers carry a pen to mark their selections for betting purposes. An unroyal naughty though crossed my mind - was HRH having a bet on the horses? [mind you, he would not have been the first royal to do so- both the Queen and the late QM reputedly liked a bet; indeed, experienced race-goers at Royal Ascot used to claim that they could spot the particular member of the Household staff who had been charged with the task of placing the royal bets, as the gentleman used to 'peel off' from the Royal Party and head towards the betting part of the course!!] Harry then met the jockeys of the 5 runners. The horses then left the Paddock to parade in front of the stands before going down to the start.
Workforce was the favourite, but Rewilding, written by famous jockey Frankie Dettori, was strongly fancied by many people. I backed Nathaniel, a horse that I had seen previously at Ascot, as I had found his previous performances very impressive. I should make it clear, though, that I only put very modest amounts of money on a horse - £2 [$3.50] max, just for a bit of interest on the occasional race.
Unfortunately, in the final part of the race, Rewilding sustained a fatal injury and Frankie Dettori was thrown to the ground and taken off in an ambulance. The race was won by Nathaniel, an improving 3 year old; this was quite interesting as it has been some years since a 3 year old has run the race. The winning horse and jockey then returned to the Paddock for the presentation, but the atmosphere was one of great sorrow rather than joy because of the death of Rewilding. I did notice that John Gosden, the trainer of the winning horse, put all thoughts of his own winning horse aside and rushed to the stricken Rewilding to see what he could do to help. I thought that his behaviour was most dignified - he had just trained the winner of one of - if not THE most important middle-distance races in the calendar, but his thoughts were only on the stricken horse trained by one of his rivals.
Prince Harry then mounted the dais to present the trophy, but the atmosphere was one of sorrow; race-goers in the paddock, usually so keen to cheer the winning horse were all shocked into silence by what had happened. I thought that Prince Harry carried out the presentation with appropriate dignity. Prince Harry then presented other awards to the victorious young jockey, William Buick. Before taking his prize though, I was touched that William Buick first offered his condolences to all those connected with Rewilding.
I stayed until the final race but chose to end my day early and come back home without staying for the finale of the cocktail party, as I found the events of the afternoon rather upsetting. Rewilding was found to have broken his cannon bone; this injury was not due to pressure or inappropriate treatment in the race as, sadly, this is the sort of problem that can arise if a horse is just simply running in a field alongside other horses.
All in all, this was a sad end to Harry's day of deputising for his Grandmother. It was so good to see him at the Racecourse and I did think at the start of the day that perhaps he was there because he was interested in racing rather than just there to deputise for his grandmother. I trust therefore that the sad events of today do not put Harry off a day at the races with his friends.
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